


Bionicle: Destined Downfall (Part One)

by AchsaP



Category: Bionicle - All Media Types
Genre: Battle, Danger, Darkness, Epic, Epic Battles, Fate & Destiny, Gen, Good versus Evil, Human, Light and Darkness, Light versus Darkness, Retelling, Sacrifice, elemental powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:01:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 59,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24412483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AchsaP/pseuds/AchsaP
Summary: The matoran of Mata Nui have finally returned to Metru Nui, and the process of rebuilding has begun. But when the Toa Nuva disappear and stars begin to blink out one by one, a team of brave matoran sets out on the greatest quest of any of their lives to find the legendary Ignika, the Mask of Life in order to save the life of The Great Spirit himself. Meanwhile on the distant island of Voya Nui, the arrival of six new "Toa" ignites the suspicion of a group of renegade matoran, and sets into motion a grand-scale clash of good and evil all while the fate of the universe itself hangs by a thread.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 4





	1. Prologue

Garan strayed further from the village than usual, hoping to collect some clean water for once. He traversed the rocky terrain as swiftly as possible, scanning every inch of ground. The sea that surrounded his home island was tainted, and the groundwater in many places was even worse. Water that couldn’t be treated was dumped back into the ocean; something that had been happening more frequently in the past few weeks.

Climbing up over a pile of boulders, Garan surveyed the landscape. For a few moments, the ground trembled beneath his feet, then lay silent. He glanced up at the smoldering peak of the volcano, Mount Valmai. Wiping sweat from his forehead, Garan leapt off the boulders and landed hard on the other side. Eventually he found a spot, and charged up his tool.

It fired a pulse of energy into the ground and blasted a hole a few feet deep. In the bottom of the hole was a shallow puddle of water. Getting onto his knees, Garan reached into the hole and brought a droplet to his tongue. He promptly spat it out.

This stuff’s foul, too, he thought to himself. He didn’t want to go back to the village empty-handed, so he kept moving. The ground shook again. He gripped his pulse bolt generator harder in his hand. He wasn’t sure how long life was like this; too long, he thought.

A few hours passed, and he managed to find a small amount of water which he put in a pouch. He started back for the village to take it for treatment so it would be at least somewhat drinkable. The village was small, there were only about a couple hundred matoran that milled about, repairing their small rocky shelters, building small campfires, trying to gather up fish from the rancid ocean that wouldn’t poison the population. Once he reached the entrance his friend Balta ran up to him.

“How’d it go?” the Ta-Matoran asked, his orange eyes wide and expectant. Garan sighed, and handed his friend the water pouch. Balta shook it, and his face fell.

“Yeah, it’s not even enough for one,” Garan sighed, resting one of his pulse bolt generator tools on his shoulder, “I was thinking of going out again. Maybe I should try further north.”

“Maybe,” Balta sighed, “I guess there’s no harm in it.”

Garan tried to muster up a smile, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Before he turned to leave, a Le-Matoran stumbled up to the both of them, panting heavily.

“What is it, Piruk?” Garan asked.

“I think…I saw something…out at sea!” Piruk gasped, leaning on his own knees for support.

“What did you see?”

“It was…big…and…silver!” Piruk said, standing to his full height and letting out a sharp breath.

“We’ll worry about that later,” Garan said, putting a hand on his shoulder, “Right now we need to find some water.”

“Let me go,” a Ga-Matoran named Dalu said, trotting up to the lot, “I’ve been dying for some action all day.”

“You call searching for water action?” Balta said, a small smile in his voice.

“It’s better than sitting around here,” Dalu said.

“Okay, Dalu, you can come along,” Garan said. He turned to Piruk, “You coming too?”

“Oh, uh, sure,” Piruk said, scraping his shredder claw tools together.

Garan looked at Balta, “Take care of things while we’re gone, alright?”

“Got it,” Balta nodded.

Garan led Dalu and Piruk out of the village and the three began heading north. They walked in relative silence, with only the sounds of their footsteps on the rocky terrain and Piruk’s scraping, a nervous habit of his.

“Could you stop that?” Dalu asked Piruk, “You’re giving me a headache.”

“Sorry,” Piruk mumbled.

“Guys, do you see that?” Garan pointed ahead and the gaze of his two companions fell upon what he saw: a small grassy plain where a few trees sprouted from.

“I haven’t seen that much green in years,” Dalu breathed, “and that’s saying something.”

The plain was dwarfed significantly by the harsh jagged mountains that surrounded it. But it looked lush and healthy, so the three matoran climbed down to it. Sure enough, after blasting a few holes in the ground, they were able to fill two small pouches with drinkable water.

“Still not a lot,” Dalu commented.

“But it’s better than nothing,” Garan said, “Come on, let’s get back to the village.”

* * *

The next day Garan went out to gather more water from the tiny oasis they had found. Upon blasting a couple of holes in the ground, he could see even less water than yesterday. His heart sank. Sighing, he still filled the pouch as much as he could and traversed the island, walking along the coastline. A bright glint caught his eye, and he looked out to the deadly, sparkling sea. There was something large and silver drifting towards the shore. It was long and cylindrical, dynamically shaped for water travel. He briefly recalled Piruk mentioning such a thing yesterday; the Le-Matoran had sharp eyes, even at long distances.

He waited for only a minute, and the canister hit the coast, sliding a few feet onto the rocky sand. A hollow _bang_ sounded from inside, causing him to jump back a few feet. The second _bang_ was much louder, and Garan scrambled for cover behind a nearby boulder. He tried to make his breathing as quiet as possible.

On the last _bang_ , the canister’s top blasted open. All of Garan’s muscles stiffened in anticipation. First, a head emerged. A pale-skinned head with dark green hair from which a pair of horns protruded. Then a muscular torso, with jagged spikes protruding from the spine, then a pair of legs and heavy boots. The figure was huge and was wearing strange clothing. The strange being cracked his neck loudly and ground his teeth. Suddenly a pair of frigid green eyes were fixed on him, and Garan felt his whole body freeze.

“You there,” the stranger said, in a voice rough and quiet, like the hissing of a viper. Something was strange about his body too, the way its form seemed to shift slightly like it wasn’t completely cohesive. Garan couldn’t bring himself to move. The stranger took a step forward, extending a hand.

“Toa Zaktan,” the stranger said. Garan looked down at the hand, and back up at the stranger’s face. Garan slowly stood up and took a cautious step backwards. The stranger stepped forward again, extending his hand again.

“Toa Zaktan,” the stranger repeated, “Here to help.”

“You’re…a Toa?” Garan asked, finally finding his voice. He peered into this “Toa” Zaktan’s eyes, there was something cold and distant about the way they stared back into him.

“Like I said, here to help,” the stranger said, withdrawing his hand when Garan wouldn’t take it. “Now, what seems to be the trouble here?” Zaktan’s face split into a wide, malicious grin, with teeth that could rival those of a muaka cat.


	2. The Ruined City

In the past few days, Jaller and the other matoran of the island of Mata Nui had listened to the tales of the Toa Metru, their struggles against Makuta and their transformation into Turaga. By the time Turaga Vakama had finished the tale, the island city of Metru Nui was becoming visible on the horizon. Jaller looked to the Turaga with newfound respect. Hearing their stories and knowing what they went through to protect the matoran made up for the fact that they had kept so many secrets from them for so long.

Jaller walked with Takanuva, his best friend, and Hahli, whose hand he had held on almost the entirety of the journey. They were called to stop and rest for the night, and the three sat with a small group of other matoran. Jaller stared out to the horizon, out at the city that was supposedly his home once. He didn’t feel anything, no familiarity and no nostalgia. That harsh, jagged outline on the horizon was another world, so far from anything resembling the island of Mata Nui.

“We’re almost home, I guess,” Takanuva said. Jaller chuckled softly.

“It’s not very green,” Hahli added, “Then again, I didn’t picture a lot of green from the Turaga’s stories.”

Nuparu, an Onu-Matoran and acclaimed inventor, appeared between Takanuva and Jaller, grinning excitedly. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m looking forward to seeing the sophisticated machinery that place has,” he said, plopping down in front of the campfire, “There’s probably plenty of material there to work with.”

“I agree with Hahli,” a Le-Matoran named Kongu piped up, “I already miss the trees.”

The group conversed as the sun sank into the horizon, up until they all grew tired and fell asleep on the rocky ground. Jaller stayed awake, feeling restless. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Takanuva twitching in his sleep. Hahli had curled up right next to Jaller, her breath light and soft. He smiled to himself and glanced back up at the array of stars above. His eyes fell upon a lone red star, burning in the sky. The longer he stared at it, the more he felt like it was pulling him in. He felt a twinge in his chest, and he wasn’t sure why. A shiver traveled up his spine. He pulled his eyes away and stared at the campfire instead.

He must have fallen asleep, because in the next instant Hahli was shaking him and he blinked wearily.

“We’re moving again,” she said. And the population of the island of Mata Nui set off towards Metru Nui once again. Jaller grasped Hahli’s hand, and with Takanuva they continued on their way. Behind them and Takanuva was Hahli’s friend Macku, who was holding hands with the Po-Matoran athlete Hewkii.

“Is that the Coliseum?” Hewkii asked, pointing upwards. Jaller’s gaze fell on the towering spire that stretched higher than anything else on the distant island.

“That’s where Makuta put the Great Spirit to sleep,” Macku breathed in wonderment, “And where Roodaka and Sidorak commanded the Visorak hordes…”

“Doesn’t really feel real…” Takanuva joined in, voicing Jaller’s own thoughts.

As Metru Nui loomed closer, Jaller marveled at the sheer size of it. Even in its ruined state it was far beyond what he imagined from listening to the tales. The great stone bridge that had led them here was coming to its end, right next to a large domelike elaborately carved building sitting on a raised platform above the undulating silver sea.

Up ahead, Jaller could see Turaga Nokama and Toa Gali walking side by side. He heard the Turaga of Ga-Koro breathe a sigh.

“The Great Temple,” she said, looking up to the building, “It’s been so many years…”

“It’s beautiful,” Gali said, awe in her voice.

The matoran population finally set foot into the fabled Ga-Metru, all whispering and chatting excitedly with their friends and neighbors. And up ahead, standing by a large fountain, was another Turaga. He had long grey dreadlocks and dark yellow eyes and a short pointed beard. He spread his arms in greeting, a small smile on his face.

“My friends,” he said, and all the matoran chatter died down, “You do not remember, but it has been a long time. Welcome home, to Metru Nui.”

* * *

Jaller oversaw the repairs to the ruined Ta-Metru. He directed where the rubble was deposited, and helped sort through the material, picking out what they could still use for building. Whatever was too broken down to use was melted by some still-operational furnaces and Toa Tahu into magma, to be stored and shaped later. At one point while he worked, Jaller caught a glimpse of the Rahaga Norik, the friendly stranger who had helped the Toa Metru fight the Visorak a long time ago. The strange being was helping build scaffolding higher up, aided by the propeller contraption on his back. Jaller wanted to ask him all kinds of questions, but the construction came first.

For weeks, Jaller and the other Ta-Matoran labored. They had managed to clear most of the rubble from the huts and furnaces, and some matoran had even begun to move in and sleep inside the dwellings. Turaga Vakama showed up from time to time, giving them some instructions and advice, and checking on their progress. Then he would disappear in the direction of the Coliseum. Jaller wondered what he and the other Turaga did up there, what they were discussing with Dume, the elder who had greeted them upon their arrival. But he didn’t dwell on it. The work came first.

One day he was helping pile up rubble for Tahu to melt down. The Fire Toa seemed unusually cheerful, like he was enjoying the simple back-breaking labor. When the rubble pile was high enough, the Toa blasted it with concentrated heat, and the rock and metal liquified and flowed down a system of pipes that fed into the surrounding furnaces.

“Is it weird to use your Toa power for matoran work?” Jaller asked him. Tahu smiled and gave a short laugh.

“No, it’s kind of satisfying actually,” the Toa said, “As much fun as going up against the forces of Makuta is, I think I wouldn’t mind living as a Ta-Matoran for a little while.”

“We could switch places,” Jaller joked, and they both laughed. “Not really, though,” Jaller added, “Being a matoran is good enough for me.”

Tahu smiled, and readied himself to melt down the next pile of rubble. Norik appeared at his side and tapped the Toa on his shoulder. Tahu bent down and listened as Norik whispered something into his ear. A look of confusion flashed across the Toa of Fire’s face, but he quickly covered it up, and nodded politely to Norik.

“Sorry, Jaller,” he said, rising to his full height, “I’ll be back.”

Tahu promptly left with Norik, and Jaller stared after them. He turned back to his work, questions swirling about his mind all the while.

* * *

About a week passed, and Tahu had not returned. Neither had Norik, for that matter. Jaller tried to keep his mind occupied with hard labor, but it kept wandering. Turaga Vakama hadn’t checked up on the district in a long time, either. One night, Jaller lay awake, staring at the dark night sky until the sun rose. Suspicion grew in the back of his mind, threatening to drive him mad. He wasn’t an expert on the stars, but a few of the constellations he knew were missing. In the morning, he put another Ta-Matoran—one named Kapura, who had been on the Ta-Koro guard with him—in charge of the repairs, and he left Ta-Metru.

He traversed the island city, taking in the sheer size and sophistication of its structures. He observed all the matoran of his island home hammering away, slowly but surely restoring the City of Legends to its former glory. But he couldn’t feel a sense of pride or accomplishment over it. Something was going on that the Turaga weren’t telling them. And he had to find out what that was.

Wandering through the city when he should be working? _Seems like I’m turning into Takanuva_ , he mused. He found himself near Ko-Metru, and tried unsuccessfully to suppress a shiver. A cold breeze blew past him, trailing tiny flakes of snow in its wake. Before him rose the tall gleaming structures known as Knowledge Towers, straight out of the Turaga’s stories. Ko-Matoran toiled away, repairing the towers and clearing away the rubble. Jaller spotted Matoro in the crowd and jogged up to him.

“Oh, Jaller!” Matoro exclaimed, his light blue eyes shining, “What brings you here?”

“This might sound weird but,” Jaller hesitated for a moment, “Do you know anything about what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you seen Toa Kopaka around?”

“No,” Matoro answered, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

“Well, Toa Tahu’s gone too,” Jaller continued, “We haven’t seen him in days. And Turaga Vakama hasn’t come to check on the repairs either.”

Matoro’s gaze dropped to the ground, and he fiddled with his hands.

“Matoro,” Jaller urged, trying to meet his gaze, “What’s going on? If anyone would know, it’s you.”

Matoro heaved a sigh, meeting his gaze at last. “I’ve worked for Turaga Nuju for a longer than I can remember. I’ve heard plenty of things that I made a vow never to share. Not even with my friends. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can tell you. Even if I wanted to…”

“So, something _is_ going on,” Jaller confirmed, “I won’t make you break your vow, Matoro.”

“Thank you. It’s better for all of us,” Matoro smiled slightly, but Jaller could see that he was troubled. He decided not to press him anymore.

“Sorry to intrude,” he said, and turned to leave. He left Ko-Metru with a confident stride, like he was patrolling Ta-Koro once again. _If Matoro won’t say anything, I think I know someone who will_ , Jaller thought to himself.

* * *

“Takanuva!” he called. He found his friend somewhere near Le-Metru, no doubt exploring the area. Takanuva’s blue eyes lit up at the sight of him.

“Jaller! You’re not working?” The Toa of Light paused, a mischievous glint in his eye, “Have I been that bad an influence on you?”

“The work can wait,” Jaller answered, “There’s something more important. Isn’t there?”

“I-I don’t know what you mean…” Takanuva laughed nervously.

“You haven’t changed at all,” Jaller sighed, “You are such a terrible liar.”

“Look, I don’t know what—,” Takanuva started.

“—The Toa Nuva are gone. The Turaga haven’t left the Coliseum in over a week. And I don’t know if you noticed, but it’s a little darker at night lately, don’t you think?”

Takanuva’s shoulders drooped slightly. “Okay, okay,” he said, “You’re right. There is something going on, and the Turaga aren’t telling the matoran anything.”

“Again?” Jaller groaned, anger flashing in his mind, “They spill their guts to us after _all that time_ and now they’re keeping secrets again?”

“Yeah, I don’t like it any more than you do,” Takanuva said.

“Come on,” Jaller gestured for him to follow, “Let’s pay the good elders a visit.”


	3. Defiance

Jaller entered the Coliseum, with Takanuva trailing hesitantly behind. He traversed the stadium, which was still a bit cluttered with debris, and entered the door to the main spire. On the main elevator, the two friends stood in silence. Takanuva seemed tense, but Jaller was determined, and mentally prepared himself for the upcoming confrontation. The elevator stopped, and when the doors opened, Jaller strode forward down the long hall.

Jaller could hear the hushed voices of the Turaga up ahead, and his pace quickened. He entered a large conference room, where all six Turaga of Mata Nui were seated at a long table, and Turaga Dume was leaning on the end, addressing them all. Everyone fell silent and seven pairs of eyes fell upon Jaller.

“What are you doing here, young one?” Dume asked, a hard edge to his voice.

“Where are the Toa Nuva?” Jaller asked. The six Turaga of Mata Nui exchanged looks with one another, but Dume’s hard yellow eyes were fixed on him.

“You should be helping with the repairs,” Dume said. He glanced past Jaller, “And you, Toa of Light. You shouldn’t be slacking either. There is much work to be done.”

“All of you are hiding something,” Jaller said, bringing Dume’s attention back to him, “And I would like to know what that is.”

Dume furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to say something. But Turaga Vakama rose from his seat and slowly stepped towards them.

“Now, Jaller,” Vakama said gently, “There’s nothing for you to worry about. Please, return to your work.”

Jaller frowned, and put his foot down. “I won’t.”

The gathered Turaga looked as though he’d struck them all in the face. He felt Takanuva’s hand on his shoulder.

“Jaller, let’s just go,” The Toa of Light whispered nervously.

“No,” Jaller snapped, shrugging his hand off his shoulder, the turned to the Turaga, “I’m not leaving until I hear the truth.”

“Jaller,” Dume said evenly, “This doesn’t concern you.”

“I’m sorry, but I think it does!” Jaller said, anger rising within him, “You’re all keeping secrets again, for what? What’s going on?”

None of the Turaga moved a muscle, and the room was painfully silent for a solid minute. Jaller huffed in frustration.

“Fine. Until you stop treating matoran like helpless little rahi that need coddling, no one is going to do any work,” Jaller declared, and swiftly turned on his heel and left the room.

“Jaller,” Takanuva said helplessly. But Jaller ignored him and quickened his pace.

Jaller traveled throughout all of Metru Nui, calling a strike. Upon hearing the news of what he’d discovered, the matoran dropped their tools in droves. Machines halted, conveyor belts slowed to a stop, and matoran sat about among the unfinished construction. Jaller sat inside his hut, staring angrily at the floor.

Takanuva entered, ducking his head to avoid hitting the ceiling. “Jaller, come on. Don’t you think—,” his friend began.

“—Takanuva,” Jaller said sharply, “Not even you can change my mind right now.”

“But—,”

“—no.”

Takanuva closed his mouth, and ran his fingers through his white hair. He left without another word. Jaller sighed. A few more days passed, and Turaga Vakama, Dume, and Onewa all visited on separate occasions, trying to talk “sense” into him. But Jaller didn’t budge, and neither did all the matoran. Finally, after about a week, while Jaller was sitting inside his hut, Turaga Nokama entered quietly. Jaller took notice of her approach, and sighed heavily.

“Wise one, I think I admired you most out of all the Toa Metru from the stories,” Jaller said, “But I don’t want to hear any more reasons why I’m in the wrong, not even from you.”

The elder smiled a wrinkled smile, “Rest assured, that you are not in the wrong.”

Jaller glanced up, meeting her blue gaze. Nokama grasped her trident, leaning on it for support.

“It isn’t right to keep you in the dark like this,” she said, and Jaller listened intently, “I told the others that, but they wouldn’t listen.”

“So, what is going on?”

Nokama heaved a long sigh, “Dume will have my head for this.” She took a seat across from him, propping her trident against the wall and folding her hands neatly in her lap. “But we’ve found signs in the stars. They’re going out, one by one. This can only mean one thing.”

Jaller found himself leaning forward in anticipation.

Nokama’s blue eyes shone with worry. “The Great Spirit Mata Nui…he’s not just sleeping. He is dying.”

Jaller felt a shiver travel through him, in spite of the heat of Ta-Metru. His mind flashed to the night sky, stars blinking out one by one until there was no light left.

“The Toa Nuva were sent away on a mission. There is an artifact called the Ignika, literally translated it means ‘the Mask of Life.’ It’s the only thing now that can save Mata Nui’s life. If they fail…”

“…that’s the end,” Jaller finished for her, fear quickening his heart.

“Correct,” Nokama said, rising from her seat with some effort. She grasped her trident and turned to leave.

“Where did the Toa Nuva go?” Jaller called after her.

“An island far south from here,” Nokama said, “Voya Nui.”

“So, the world is dying, and the Turaga saw fit to keep it from _us?_ The world’s inhabitants?” Jaller asked.

Nokama turned back to him, her face grim. “I was never here. You didn’t learn a word of this, understand?”

Jaller nodded, fighting down the anger and confusion and fear that was swirling inside him. Nokama smiled at him warmly and exited the hut. Jaller’s mind raced. It had been over two weeks since the Toa Nuva disappeared. Has anyone heard word from them? Are they alright, or did something happen? Armed with the new knowledge from Nokama, Jaller gathered up a small bag of tools and supplies, and set out in the middle of the night.

Sheer determination drove his every step. He traveled all over Metru Nui, gathering the bravest and most trust-worthy matoran he knew. Soon he assembled a team: Hahli, Kongu, Nuparu, Hewkii, and Matoro. For the most part, they were eager to join him, Hahli probably was the most eager of all. Matoro took a bit of convincing, but finally agreed that something had to be done. Together they headed towards the southernmost tip of the island city. They all stood upon a hill, overlooking the wide expanse of ocean.

“Oh, Takanuva!” Hahli exclaimed, and the five other matoran all turned to see the Toa of Light approaching them.

“What are you doing here?” Jaller asked.

“I know what you’re planning,” Takanuva said, his voice serious.

“If you’re going to try to stop me—,”

“—I want to go with you,” Takanuva said. Jaller stared at him.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Kongu piped up, “Leaving Metru Nui without a Toa-hero to defend it?”

“They’ll be fine without me for a few weeks,” Takanuva cracked a smile, “Plus, it wouldn’t hurt for you guys to have a bit of Toa power on your side.”

“Alright,” Jaller said, returning the smile, “let’s go.”

“Turaga Nuju said once that the way to Voya Nui is through ‘a land of the dead.’” Matoro said, visibly shivering, “Oh, Mata Nui, I’ll be in so much trouble for saying that.”

Nuparu gave him a friendly slap on the back, “Don’t worry, we’re in this together!” Matoro smiled gratefully at him.

“There’s a tunnel somewhere around here that leads right to it,” the Ko-Matoran added.

“Like that?” Hewkii said, pointing. Jaller looked and saw the darkened tunnel mouth up ahead, jutting out from the southernmost shore of Metru Nui. The seven companions approached it. Jaller peered inside but couldn’t see anything at all.

“I’ve got this,” Takanuva said cheerfully, stepping forward. An aura of golden light surrounded him, and he entered the cave. The matoran collectively gasped when the Toa of Light was utterly swallowed by the darkness and was completely lost from view.

“That’s not right,” Hahli said, voicing Jaller’s own fear.

“What do we do now?” Matoro asked worriedly, fiddling with his hands.

“We follow him,” Jaller said, but Kongu caught his arm.

“I don’t like this,” Kongu said, “There’s a reason why Turaga Matau always says ‘sorry-bad things happen underground.’”

Hahli look out a lightstone from her pack and held it up inside the cave entrance. Its glow was completely extinguished. When she pulled it back out, the glow returned.

“I have an idea,” Nuparu said, and pulled a long length of rope from his pack, “this way we won’t be separated.”

The six matoran tied the rope around their waists, and entered the cave single-file. Jaller was in the lead, and kept his feet moving forward in spite of him not being able to see them at all.

“Takanuva, we’re coming!” he called ahead, hoping his friend could hear.


	4. Piraka

Balta watched the stranger from a safe distance, unsure of what to think. He had claimed to be a Toa of Fire, named Hakann. But he didn’t remember any Toa from the old legends being described as large muscular brutes with spikes growing from their backs or horns sprouting from their heads. The old legends also didn’t describe them as having maniacally wide grins that could scare away a takea shark.

“So what do you have to do around here?” Hakann asked suddenly, hands on his hips. Balta froze, not having realized before that the “Toa” knew he was there.

“Um, not much of anything, really,” Balta answered, his voice wavering slightly, “We’re in the middle of a crisis, see.”

“Crisis, huh,” Hakann said, and snickered. Balta frowned.

“Yes, a crisis. We barely have enough resources to get by. Most of the water here is tainted, and so is the foo—,”

“—What’re those things?” Hakann pointed ahead to a herd of large rahi grazing in the distance.

“Those are Kikanalo,” Balta said, “peaceful creatures, unless you—,”

Hakann’s eyes glowed bright red, and a beam of energy shot from them and blasted through the herd, burning up a few Kikanalo in its path. The large beasts turned to ash in an instant, and the rest of the herd stampeded away in a panic. Balta gasped audibly.

“Why did you do that?” he cried. Hakann grinned his wide unsettling grin.

“They were blocking my view,” the “Toa” responded.

* * *

Dalu watched as the mysterious blue-haired “Toa” sat on a boulder by the shore in deep meditation. He was supposedly a Toa of Water named Vezok. She approached him cautiously, as not to startle him.

“What do you want?” Vezok asked roughly, eyes still closed.

Dalu hesitated for a moment, suddenly feeling small next to the stranger. “Uh, well, I was wondering,” she said, “If you had some advice…for me.”

“What?” Vezok snorted in disbelief, opening his eyes, and peering into Dalu.

“Well, as a Toa of Water, do you have any tips on…mental stability?” Dalu struggled to find the right words, “See, my friends tell me I have a really bad temper…”

“Look, matoran, if you get mad, get mad. Just let it all out.”

“But that’s the problem,” Dalu said, suspicion growing in her mind, “When I let it all out, I hurt other people.”

“It’s their fault for getting in your way,” Vezok said. He stood on the boulder, then turned towards her. He peered down at her, his blue eyes blazing with a crazed light. “Now, could you leave me be?” he asked with a hard edge to his already hard voice.

“One more question,” Dalu said, meeting his gaze, “Aren’t Toa of Water usually female?”

Vezok promptly grabbed her by the collar and threw her a few feet backwards. Dalu landed flat on her back, and a bit of wind was knocked out of her. Vezok stared down at her as she struggled to stand. His toothy grin gleamed in the pale sunlight, making him look like some kind of rahi beast.

“What, am I not pretty enough?” he sneered.

* * *

Piruk clambered over rocks, sweat pouring down his face. He couldn’t even think about how fast he was losing water when it seemed there was something much worse happening on the island. The silver canisters he’d seen in the ocean housed six different beings that claimed to be Toa. But these “Toa” didn’t seem like the noble guardians from the legends. They were just really scary brutes. Were the legends just a bunch of lies?

So caught up in his own panicked thoughts, Piruk was only brought out of them when he ran headlong into someone. Looking up, his heart froze as he came face to face with Thok, the self-proclaimed Toa of Ice. He had light blue hair and a short light blue beard to match. He always wore a hood. And he always seemed to be chewing on something in his mouth.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Thok hissed, grinning from ear to ear.

“I-I was j-just…” Piruk’s mind couldn’t even conjure up anything to say.

“I’ve got a question about your little island,” the “Toa” said, blowing a large pink bubble from his mouth, and bring it back into his mouth after it popped.

Piruk didn’t respond, fear closing his throat.

“That area over there,” Thok pointed towards the tiny oasis in the distance, “My comrade Hakann completely incinerated it not two hours ago. Why then, is it still green, hm?”

“Wha—I d-don’t know what y-you’re—,” Piruk stammered. Thok laughed softly, and crouched down to the matoran’s level.

“You’re hiding something here, aren’t you?” Thok hissed, his voice a dangerous whisper.

“N-no, what would—,”

“—a treasure. Something you want to keep to yourselves,” Thok rose up to his full height, leering down at Piruk, who couldn’t stop himself from trembling.

“Tell me everything you know about it,” the “Toa” said, his icy blue eyes piercing him through.

“I d-don’t know anything, I s-swear,” Piruk said helplessly, wishing his legs would allow him to run. Thok leaned down again, getting really close to his face.

“You’re lying,” Thok breathed, and Piruk nearly gagged at the smell of his breath.

“I’m not,” Piruk said, taking a step back, “There’s no treasure.”

“Didn’t your Turaga teach you not to tell lies?” Thok said, but Piruk was already running away. As he scrambled and stumbled over rocks along the way, he checked over his shoulder. The “Toa” wasn’t pursuing him. Instead he stared after the fleeing matoran, his grin chilling even from a distance.

* * *

Garan overlooked the island up on a rocky cliff. To say he was feeling troubled would be a gross understatement. Up north, half the matoran population of Voya Nui had been put to work building a fortress, and on the slopes of Mount Valmai the other half were digging trenches and tunnels into the volcano. Some were put to work putting up high stone walls around the village. None of this was in service of the water crisis on the island. And Garan was convinced these six strangers were not what they claimed to be.

Zaktan had disappeared into the lower levels of the unfinished fortress, and he hasn’t been seen since. The “Toa of Stone” called Avak was busy building what looked more like weapons than tools to help the matoran of the island, and he nearly bit the head off anyone that disrupted his work. Next to the half-finished fortress, the “Toa of Earth” named Reidak was barking at matoran who were working slower than the others. Thok lounged about, occasionally giving orders, but mostly wandering off on his own, surveying the land around the small green oasis. Hakann alternated between punishing injured or slow-working matoran and blasting fiery holes into everything he saw, just for the fun of it. And Vezok went in and out of the volcano, seemingly patrolling the island and keeping a close eye on the working matoran.

Garan glared at the strangers that had completely taken over his home. This can’t be the will of the Great Spirit, he thought to himself. This is not how Toa should behave. He turned to leave, and came face to face with Hakann, who grinned broadly.

“Uh oh,” he said mockingly, “Someone’s slacking. You know what that means?”  
“I was surveying the land, Toa Reidak’s orders,” Garan lied. Hakann didn’t seem to buy it, because he tossed his head back and laughed.

“That dumbass doesn’t have the authority to give orders,” Hakann sneered, and he picked up Garan by the back of his neck, lifting him off the ground and dangling him off the edge of the cliff, “Say you’re sorry, and that you’ll get back to work.”

“Sorry, Hakann,” Garan grumbled through his teeth.

“Ah, ah, _Toa_ Hakann,” the brute said.

“Sorry, Toa Hakann,” Garan repeated, anger rising in his chest, “I’ll get back to work.”

“Good,” Hakann snickered, stepping back from the cliff and tossing him onto the ground. Hakann then glanced up in the direction of the oasis, and let out a grunt of disbelief. “No way, that shit grew back?” He fired his eyebeams at the greenery, and it all burst into flames. Garan watched in horror as it smoldered for a few minutes. But soon the two witnessed the flames fizzle out and the trees began to grow back from the ashes.

“What the hell?” Hakann asked.

As the “Toa” stared out at the healing oasis, Garan slipped away, filled with resolve. He went to seek out his friends, and to form a plan of getting rid of these brutes once and for all.

* * *

Garan stood in a cave, surrounded by allies. Including him was six matoran: Dalu, Balta, Piruk, a Ko-Matoran named Kazi, and a Po-Matoran named Velika. All had similar suspicions to him regarding the new “Toa.”

“The legends about Toa never said anything about them giving matoran orders,” Kazi said.

“Or about how…spiky they are,” Piruk added, scraping his shredder claws together.

“Vezok is _not_ a Toa of Water,” Dalu said, striking the floor with one of her twin charger weapons, “He’s totally nasty.”

“They’re all totally nasty,” Balta said.

“The one named Zaktan has been inside the fortress for days. I want Piruk to go investigate what he’s up to,” Garan said. Piruk seemed to flinch slightly at the sound of his own name.

“I-um…” Piruk said nervously. Garan stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. He smiled at the Le-Matoran.

“You’re the best scout I know. Stay out of sight, and you’ll be fine,” Garan encouraged. Piruk straightened his posture slightly, and let out a sharp breath.

“Okay,” he said.

“Report back in one day,” Garan said, “If you’re gone for longer than that, we’ll come looking for you.”

“Okay,” Piruk said again, and exited the cave.

“Velika,” Garan addressed the sleepy-eyed Po-Matoran, “we’ll need our tools sharpened and charged. Can you do that?”

Velika nodded wordlessly, smiling.

“Dalu, guard the entrance.”

“You got it,” Dalu smirked, brandishing her twin charger weapons. She left the cave as well.

“Balta, Kazi, and I will get back out to work, and we’ll gather whatever intel on these ‘Toa’ and why they’re here. Everyone meet back at sunset.”

The matoran went their separate ways, and Garan felt a rush of pride. The matoran of Voya Nui lived for nearly a thousand years without Toa or a Turaga to guide and protect them. They weren’t going to let these brutes beat them into submission.

* * *

Balta, Garan, and Kazi all split up to work in different labor groups. Balta settled on helping dig trenches around the volcano. It didn’t take long for sweat to begin beading all over his body, and for his throat to become dry and raw. Out of the corner of his eye, he observed Reidak and Hakann, who were supervising the project. He watched Reidak grab an exhausted-looking Ga-Matoran by the hair and throw her to the ground.

“Please, Toa,” she pleaded as Reidak loomed over her, “I’ll work harder…”

“Make sure you do,” Reidak said with a gleaming white grin, “Or you’ll be taking a nice swim in the volcano.”

The Ga-Matoran pushed herself to her feet, grunting from the effort, and went back to working, panting heavily. Balta glared at the back of Reidak’s head. Balta went back to work, breaking up the soil underfoot with a pickaxe.

“What’s that?” someone’s cry broke him out of his thoughts. Balta looked up the mountain to see a large figure rising from the depths of the volcano. It comprised of a rocky exo-skeleton with morphing, dripping lava comprising its insides. Panic swept through the matoran workers, and they began dropping their tools and running away. Balta felt terrified, but couldn’t help but wonder why he’d never seen anything like that on the island before.

“Stand back! Outta the way!” Reidak shouted, pushing a few matoran out of his path as he set after the monster. Balta turned to see Hakann and Avak also appearing on the scene, wielding strange-looking weapons.

“This thing threatens the matoran!” Hakann declared, “I won’t stand for it!”

The lava monster took another step, making the ground shake. It raised an arm and shot lava from it. Avak dodged it, and aimed his weapon, which shot beams of energy that pelted the monster and forced it to take a step back. Reidak came up behind the monster, and kicked it hard, sending it tumbling forwards. As it toppled, it headed straight for a group of matoran who were frozen with fear. Hakann leapt in front of them and blasted the creature with his own weapon, hitting it with spheres of lava. 

The monster was forced backwards again and it staggered. It raised a rocky fist above its head. Avak shot at it with his weapon, severing it from the body. The other arm plunged towards him, but he dodged at the last second. Hakann raised his weapon again, but before he could fire it Reidak jumped up his back and off his head, and the “Toa of Earth” landed a powerful punch on the monster’s rocky head. The rock that made up the creature crumbled, and its lava melted and lost form as well. Hakann rubbed his head, and glared at Reidak, who only smiled amusedly. Avak rested his weapon on his shoulder, and flashed a wide grin at the matoran workers, who had all stopped fleeing and were staring up at the “Toa” with awe.

“Remember this day, matoran,” Avak said, “that without the Toa, you’d all be dead.”

Balta glared at the “Toa,” at their smugness and their audacity to do a heroic deed when up to this point all they had done was treat the matoran like dirt. Disbelief and anger flooded his mind when he heard the clapping and cheering begin. Balta observed the faces of Voya Nui’s “heroes,” and could find no sincerity in their eyes. And he observed the matoran crowd around the volcano, feeling anger and shame that they could all be so gullible.

* * *

Dalu stood vigilantly outside the cave, scanning the area. No matter what, none of those “Toa” could know where their hideout was. She gripped her weapons hard, almost wishing for one of them to approach, just so she could blast him. Her head snapped to the left, when slow heavy footsteps reached her ears. Too heavy for matoran footsteps, she thought. She crouched behind a boulder and waited.

The one called Avak emerged, looking around. He kicked aside a few small rocks, as if he were looking for something on the ground he’d dropped. _Don’t come another step_ , Dalu thought. But he did, and Dalu gripped her weapons and charged them up. Staying out of sight, she aimed, and shot a beam of energy at Avak, who stumbled and fell off the rock he was standing on.

Dalu smiled to herself. Her weapon power caused anyone’s senses to be automatically augmented to insane levels. Right now Avak was probably going mad from seeing every speck of dust, every single molecule that made up every single thing on the island, all at once. Sure enough, she heard his cry of pain and confusion. She glanced over the boulder she was hiding behind. Avak had gotten himself back on his feet, and was blinking furiously. He groaned and massaged his own temples. He took a step towards the hideout again.

Dalu blasted him again. This time, he should be able to hear absolutely everything: rocks scraping against each other, matoran tools striking stone, insects buzzing, every living thing breathing, all at the same time. Dalu peeked out from her hiding place to see Avak pressing his hands over his ears.

“What the hell?” he screamed.

Dalu felt the side effects of her weapons’ power taking a toll on her energy. She probably used a bit too much power this time around, but she knew she couldn’t let the “Toa” come any closer to this location. She breathed hard, and charged up another shot. This time when she shot Avak, his strength was augmented to the point when he leaned on a boulder for support, it shattered into pieces and he fell over. He tumbled down the mountain, breaking through boulders along the way and shouting curses the whole way down. Dalu felt dizziness wash over her, and she dropped her weapons and collapsed.

* * *

Piruk crept through the darkened halls, stepping as lightly as he could. He had made it into the lower levels of the “Toa’s” fortress, slipping silently around corners and breathing as quietly as possible. The deeper he went, the more panic built inside him, and the more he tried to fight it down.

He reached a large stone door at the end of a hall. He pressed up against the door and listened. It seemed no one was around. As carefully and slowly as he could, he pushed it open, holding his breath as it scraped ever so slightly against the stone floor. He squeezed through the crack and slowly pushed the door shut. He crept through a short hallway that opened up to a large chamber. He stuck himself to the wall, observing his surroundings.

In the center of the circular stone chamber was a large metal vat, and he could hear some kind of liquid boiling inside it. Piruk sniffed the air, and his eyes teared up. He clamped a hand over his nose, quietly huffing air through his mouth. It was a pungent odor, nothing like he’d ever smelled before. He almost took a step towards the vat, but the sound of footsteps made him plaster himself back against the wall.

Zaktan emerged from the other side of the vat, and he circled it slowly and deliberately. The green-haired “Toa” wore a deeply thoughtful expression. He strode towards a table on which sat some more strange weapons he recalled seeing being worked on by Avak.

The stone door burst open, and Piruk’s heart stopped. He flattened himself more against the wall, any more and he would have merged with the stone itself. Reidak entered the chamber, dragging a Ta-Matoran behind him.

“Where are we? What’s going on?” the matoran struggled helplessly against the “Toa’s” grip.

“Zaktan, I’ve got one,” Reidak said.

“Good,” Zaktan said without turning around.

Reidak took a few steps towards the vat, but stopped short as a drop of blood slid out of his nose. He grimaced, and stepped back again. Before Piruk could wonder what that was all about, he saw Zaktan grab a small clear orb, about the size of a matoran’s fist, from the table and bring it to the vat. A small door opened on the side, and some sickly-green liquid began to drip out. Zaktan filled the clear orb with the stuff, and loaded it into the strange-looking weapon. He turned around, and walked towards Reidak and the Ta-Matoran, who was still struggling.

“Hold him still,” Zaktan said coldly, and Reidak gripped the matoran by both arms. The shot was fired, and the orb passed through the matoran’s chest. Piruk watched in horror as the fear in the matoran’s eyes faded, replaced by a glassy, distant look. His eyes were vibrantly bloodshot. Reidak released his grip, and the Ta-matoran simply stood there.

“You, come here,” Zaktan ordered. Piruk watched as the matoran looked up and walked up to Zaktan without hesitation. Surprisingly, Zaktan’s arm seemed to dissolve into a cloud of thousands of tiny swirling bits, and it moved to the other side of the room and flipped a switch on the wall. A small lava pool opened up a few feet away from the “Toa” and matoran.

“Throw yourself in,” Zaktan ordered, his arm reforming from the cloud. The matoran immediately started for the lava pool. Piruk clamped both hands over his mouth to suppress a terrified whimper. Zaktan grabbed the matoran by the arm, and tossed him across the room. The matoran then promptly stood himself up, and started for the pool again.

“Stop,” Zaktan ordered. The matoran froze in his tracks. Zaktan nodded to Reidak, who stepped towards them, and once again stepped back as another drop of blood dripped out of his nose.

“This always happens down here…” Reidak muttered angrily, wiping with the back of his hand and sniffing loudly.

Zaktan looked down at the matoran. “Go back to the surface,” he ordered, “Act normal. Gather everyone into the village and wait for midnight.”

The matoran nodded and left the room.

“I’m outta here,” Reidak said, “the stuff in that stupid vat makes me feel sick.”

“Go,” Zaktan hissed, “And make sure the others get one of these.” He tossed one of the launcher weapons at Reidak, who caught it effortlessly. He tossed the rest of them, until Reidak had a pile in his arms. He left the room, grumbling to himself.

Piruk readied himself to leave, but soon after Reidak left Avak and Hakann entered the chamber. Piruk sighed inwardly, and resolved to stay until he’d learned all that he possibly could. Avak strode in Zaktan’s direction, looking annoyed. He stopped short, and like Reidak he got a nosebleed within just a few yards of the vat.

“I didn’t summon you,” Zaktan said, his voice low and cold.

“We’re tired of this shit, Zaktan,” Avak said, wiping his nose on his sleeve, “And the matoran are getting suspicious.”

“Yeah, one of the little creeps attacked him, _and won_ ,” Hakann sneered. Avak shot him a look that could kill, but it only seemed to make Hakann’s maniacal grin wider.

“That wouldn’t happen if any of you were any good at acting like Toa,” Zaktan hissed, his whole form shifting like leaves being blown in a breeze.

Avak folded his arms, “Oh, I’m sorry, I missed that part of _Dark Hunter training._ ”

What are Dark Hunters? Piruk wondered, his heart quickening.

“Hey, what more do those little creeps want from us? We saved them from a lava monster,” Hakann said.

“Yeah, great job with that lava trick, dumbass,” Avak snapped at him, “You almost crushed me!”

“Yeah, too bad you dodged,” Hakann smirked. Avak threw a punch, but Hakann swiftly ducked under it.

“Your little performance won’t be enough to get the matoran on our side,” Zaktan said, “Luckily I have the solution,” he gestured towards the vat.

“Could’ve told us that before,” Avak said, “You know, we were up there putting on a show for all of them, doing all the work, while you sit down here and play around with green shit!”

Zaktan’s arm dissolved again into a swirling mass. He sent it across the room towards Avak, who staggered backwards as the swarm of molecules flew into his eyes and mouth. He fell to the floor and began choking. Hakann stood back and watched, grinning widely at the scene before him. After about a minute, Zaktan withdrew the molecules back into himself, and his arm reformed. Avak still lay on the floor, coughing violently.

“Next time I won’t be so merciful,” Zaktan gazing coldly in Avak’s direction.

“You can shove your mercy up your—,”

“—What Avak meant to say,” Hakann stepped in, still smirking, “Was that he’s really sorry, and he appreciates your generosity. Don’t you, Avak.”

Avak coughed a few more times, and Hakann kicked him hard in the side.

“ _Don’t you_ , Avak?” Hakann repeated loudly.

“ _Yes_ ,” Avak spat. He pushed himself off the floor and rose to his feet, clutching his throat and glaring at Zaktan.

“Reidak has the equipment you need. Meet at the mountains behind the village before midnight,” Zaktan ordered, and turned his back to his companions.

Hakann roughly pushed Avak towards the door.

“I’m _going!_ ” Avak snapped at him, and the two exited the chamber.

Piruk had seen enough. When he was sure Zaktan was not paying attention, he slid out the door and crept back through the hallway. As he made his way back to the surface, he felt his feet quicken as the fear set in. Life on Voya Nui was about to get much, much worse.

* * *

Garan stopped working for a bit to catch his breath. The sky was darkening. He reflected on seeing the “Toa” stopping the advance of a large lava monster on the matoran workers. Most of the others had bought it, but Garan found it suspicious. A creature like that was not in any legends he had heard, and he’d certainly never seen one on the island until those six brutes showed up. He watched as the other matoran workers ceased their labor and began walking towards the village. Confused, Garan wondered why they were stopping work; the “Toa” had never allowed rest, not even to sleep for the night. He could see the crowd being led by a Ta-Matoran named Dezalk.

Garan ran up to him. “Hey, where’s everyone going?” he asked. But Dezalk stared blankly ahead with glazed-over eyes and kept walking. Dezalk only stopped to turn to the masses and announce:

“Everyone, gather in the village! The Toa have brought something for us!”

Excited whispers swirled about him, and it made Garan feel an impending sense of doom. The matoran of Voya Nui flooded into the village, which had been reinforced with high stone walls. Garan held back from the crowd, then began sprinting back to the hideout.

* * *

As soon as Piruk exited the fortress, he ran in the direction of the hideout. He didn’t make it very far before he stopped and listened. Deafening silence. No matoran tools chipping away at the rock and digging up the soil. No shouted orders from the “Toa.” Only his own panicked breath was audible.

He kept moving. Piruk passed the village and noticed that everyone was gathered there. And the gates were blocked by large boulders. A fresh wave of panic swept through his mind. With the high stone walls they had built, and the gates blocked, the matoran of Voya Nui were trapped inside their own village.

The matoran within didn’t seem to fully realize their situation. They stood about, wondering aloud why they were here and what the “Toa” had planned for them. Piruk swallowed hard and ducked behind a boulder.

Sure enough, on the mountains overlooking the village, the six grinning brutes appeared, each brandishing a launcher weapon that Piruk saw Zaktan use earlier. It was also Zaktan who fired the first shot that night, and the matoran in the village immediately panicked, scrambling over each other to get over the stone walls.

But all six “Toa” kept firing their weapons, and each matoran they struck stopped dead in their tracks, and looked up at them with glazed eyes, awaiting orders. Some of the infected matoran began holding down others who hadn’t been hit yet. Screams and cries of distress faded, replaced by silence. An army of dead-eyed matoran was all that was left of Voya Nui.

Piruk sprinted away harder than he ever had in his life.

* * *

Garan sat in the hideout, resting his head on his hands. He glanced worriedly at Balta, who was cradling Dalu’s head in his lap.

“She overdid it,” Balta sighed.

“At least she’s alive,” Garan said, trying to sound more reassured than he felt.

Dalu mumbled in her sleep, and a bead of sweat trickled down her face. Balta gently wiped it away. Then, the Ga-matoran slowly opened her eyes, and sat up, gazing blearily at her companions.

“Is everyone…alright?” she said. Balta tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“There is nothing funny about a muaka at midnight,” Velika said, and everyone turned to look at him. Kazi frowned.

“I hate it when he does that,” the Ko-Matoran said.

“He means that she scared us,” Garan said, looking at Dalu, “And you did.”

“Avak would’ve walked right in here if I didn’t do anything,” Dalu said, rubbing her eyes.

“It was the right thing to do,” Garan said, rising to his feet, “Just be more careful next time.” Dalu smiled.

Just then Piruk burst into the room, panting heavily.

“What is it?” Garan said, taking a step forward. He stopped short when he saw the pure fear shining in the Le-Matoran’s eyes. After a few more heaving breaths, Piruk readied himself to speak.

“We—we’re the only ones l-left,” he said.


	5. Toa Nuva versus Piraka

Lewa emerged from his canister and stumbled onto the sandy shore. The moon was obscured by a large cloud, but stars shone down from above, providing just enough light to see. Groaning, he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. He looked around. Nothing but harsh rocky terrain as far as his gaze could reach. He remembered the thick lush trees of Le-Koro, and felt a pang in his chest.

“I feel sorry-bad for whoever lives here,” he said to himself. He took a whiff of the air, and wrinkled his nose. The scent of this place was sharp and almost metallic.

Lewa adjusted his twin katana blades on his back then began walking along the shoreline, hoping to meet up with his teammates. Sure enough, after only a few minutes he ran into Tahu and Pohatu. Gali, Kopaka, and Onua joined them shortly after.

“So, this is Voya Nui?” Pohatu asked, hands on his hips, “Looks kind of…depressing.”

“But I thought you _liked_ rocks, Toa-brother!” Lewa said. Pohatu gave a slight amused smile.

“These rocks don’t look friendly,” Pohatu said, “Not at all like on Mata Nui.”

“The ocean around here is sick,” Gali added, “I’m surprised fish even live in it.”

“Regardless of the scenery,” Tahu cut in, “I think we have a job to do here.”

“He’s right,” Kopaka said, causing all eyes to fall on him, “Let’s get going.”

“Tahu and Kopaka _agreeing?_ That’s a bad omen if I ever saw one,” Onua joked. The rest laughed softly to prevent alerting any hostile life in the area.

“We’ll take it slow, see if anyone lives he—,” Tahu’s statement was cut off when a small avalanche of rocks tumbled down a steep slope only a few yards away from them. All six Toa unsheathed their weapons, scanning the area. Lewa saw a dark shape up on the slope, backlit by the dim glow of the stars. It was large, and Lewa could glimpse one gleaming yellow eye before the figure disappeared behind the rocky cliffs above. He nudged Onua, who was standing next to him.

“Yeah, I saw it too,” the Toa of Earth breathed quietly. Up ahead, Tahu gestured silently for the others to split up and surround the area. Lewa tread lightly over the stone, taking extra care not to knock even the smallest pebbles around. He used a fraction of his kanohi to hover slightly over the ground, to save up on elemental energy. He gripped his twin air katanas, heart thumping in anticipation.

Just then, right above his head a dark shape appeared and blocked out the stars. It came closer, and suddenly Pohatu was in front of him, and he struck the boulder with his fist, shattering it into millions of harmless pieces. Lewa nodded to him in gratitude.

The figure he saw before stepped out onto a ledge, overlooking them all. The cloud over the moon blew past, illuminating the night sky twofold. In its silvery glow Lewa made out the features of the figure. He was a large, muscular brute, wearing plain clothes and heavy boots. He had wavy black hair with blond streaks; it obscured one of his eyes. His unobscured eye was yellow, and gleamed in the dim light. A pair of horns jutted out from underneath his tangled hair. Spikes sprouted from his back. What made him most unsettling was the fact that he wore a wide, toothy grin.

“Toa, huh?” the being said casually, “About time something interesting happened here.”

“Who are you?” Tahu demanded, pointing at the being with one of his magma swords.

Instead of an answer, Lewa and his teammates were blown backwards by a small explosion. As Lewa pushed himself back onto his feet, he looked up to see a second being standing beside the first. He was a touch smaller than the first, but still large and muscular. He was wearing a jacket. He had short red hair, shaved on the sides, and small horns on either side of his head. His eyes were crimson. He too sported a massive grin and a spiked spine.

“What do you think, Hakann?” the first being said to the second.

“Let’s see how many hits each can take,” the one called Hakann answered, his grin widening.

“Why are you here?” Tahu shouted up at them. Hakann’s eyes flashed, and fired lasers at the Toa Nuva. This time they were all able to dodge before it struck. As the smoke and fire cleared, Lewa saw that the two beings had disappeared from the ledge.

“Spread out!” Tahu ordered his team, “Don’t let them escape!”

Lewa and the others did as they were told. With a blast of air to support him, Lewa leapt up to the ledge, and caught a glimpse of a hulking frame behind some boulders. He sprinted towards it, only to have something strike him from behind. Lewa tucked and rolled, and spun around, coming face to face with the first grinning brute.

He wasted no time hurling blades of air in his direction, but the brute dodged, and barreled towards Lewa. The Toa of Air leapt out of the way of his swinging fist, and followed up with a wind-assisted kick to the brute’s face. But his opponent recovered quickly, and grinned.

“Even a small one like you can pack a wallop. Very nice,” the brute said, his tone equal parts complimentary and dangerous. Lewa ducked under his fist again, and dove beneath the brute, punching air upwards at him and sending him flying. The brute landed solidly on the ground, and got up immediately. No signs of injury.

“What the hell are you?” Lewa asked, crossing his air katanas in front of himself.

“Name’s Reidak,” the brute said, cracking his neck loudly, “I’m a Piraka.”

“Oh, intimidating,” Lewa smirked, and threw some more blades of wind at him. Reidak somersaulted out of the way, and leapt off a small cliff. Lewa ran up to the ledge, and saw the brute plummet a few feet before smashing feet first into the rocks below, creating a small crater. Lewa leapt after him, assisted by the winds. He tossed a few small tornadoes after Reidak, who was picked up by one and tossed aside. He once again got up with little to no effort.

Lewa sprinted up to him, and brought one katana down at him. Reidak dodged the slice, and threw a punch. Lewa blocked it with the other katana. The two pushed against each other for a minute, before Reidak make a quick motion and grabbed one of Lewa’s weapons. He tossed the Toa of Air away. Lewa blinked, and leapt back onto his feet, and saw Reidak holding one of his air katanas. In another swift motion, Reidak broke it in half over his knee. The breath caught in Lewa’s throat.

“You…didn’t…” he gasped. Reidak grinned maniacally.

* * *

While Tahu, Kopaka, Gali, and Pohatu were trying to track down Hakann, Onua ran to help Lewa. The smallest Toa was locked in combat with the large brute, and Onua saw that Lewa was now only wielding one weapon. He sent cracks through the earth beneath his feet, traveling towards the brute called Reidak. Right when Lewa and Reidak exchanged a blow that knocked them both back a step, Onua sent up a large slab of earth that thrust Reidak high into the air. The brute fell about a hundred or so feet before smashing into the ground again.

Onua jogged up to Lewa, who was panting. He patted him on the back, and the Toa of Air turned to smile at him. They both jogged up to the crater where Reidak lay. The brute seemed stunned, for only a moment, before getting up again. Onua stared at him incredulously; the only injury on him was a small scratch on his arm.

“One, two, or twenty Toa,” Reidak grinned, “It’s always a good time.”

He leapt up, and brought both fists down at the two Toa, who both dove aside. Reidak spun, and landed a kick to Lewa’s torso. As the Toa of Air was sent flying, Onua leapt at Reidak, wielding his drill weapons. But Reidak spun and caught the weapons in his hands. He tossed Onua backwards, and he felt the wind get knocked out of himself as he landed on his back. Onua forced himself back on his feet, but before he could react, Reidak grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground with ease.

Onua felt the brute’s massive fingers crushing his windpipe, and he gasped for air. In a greenish blur, suddenly Lewa was on Reidak’s back, with one arm wrapped around the brute’s throat and the other raising his remaining air katana above his head. Reidak’s grip slackened, and Onua dropped to the ground. He gasped and coughed, throat burning. As he recovered, he watched Reidak spin about, trying to throw Lewa off his back.

“Lewa, be careful!” Onua cried, and sent Reidak—as well as his brother Toa—flying upwards with another slab of earth. When the two reached the apex of their flight, Lewa let go of Reidak and used the momentum of a wind-assisted front flip to blast Reidak downwards with his foot. The brute hit the ground faster than terminal velocity. His body had created a new crater on the ground.

Lewa landed lightly next to Onua, and both struggled to catch their breath. Peering down into the crater, they glimpsed Reidak’s unmoving form.

“You think we did it this time?” Lewa asked. Onua couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that it wouldn’t be enough.

And of course, Reidak began to stir again. A bit of blood ran from a wound on his face and one on one of his legs, but otherwise he had no trouble getting back on his feet again.

“I can play all night,” Reidak smirked, “Come on and get me.”

* * *

Gali along with Tahu, Kopaka, and Pohatu faced the grinning brute called Hakann. Every time his crimson eyes flashed, they all dove in different directions to avoid the explosions that followed. Gali rolled and landed up on her feet, slinging a ribbon of water in his direction. Hakann was hit, and flew a few feet backwards, landing on his back. He got up easily.

Suddenly he pulled out a strange weapon, and began firing large balls of lava at them all. Tahu leapt in front of Gali and the others, deflecting them with his sword.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Tahu shouted.

“I love the cocky taunts, Toa! Keep ‘em coming!” Hakann shouted back, grinning wildly as he fired lasers from his eyes again, and a wall of flame erupted in front of them all. Gali felt herself break into a sweat, and noticed Tahu absorbing the fire into his body. Taking the opportunity, Gali called forth a sphere of water to form around Hakann’s head. The brute choked and sputtered for a bit, before his eyes flashed and the water evaporated into steam in an instant. Tahu wasted no time shooting the fire he absorbed at Hakann, who leapt to the side just in time.

A few feet away, Gali saw Lewa land hard on the ground. He groaned and rolled over, springing back onto his feet with the help of a blast of wind. He ran away, tossing out whirlwinds at the other brute Reidak. Pohatu zoomed by with his kanohi of speed to help Lewa and Onua. Gali turned and ran to help her other brother Toa against Hakann. Suddenly a buzzing sound reached her ears.

The source was a cloud of some sort, like a swarm of tiny insects, swirling about on a nearby ledge. It coalesced into a tall muscular figure much like Reidak and Hakann. This one had green hair and cold green eyes. He was wielding a large three-bladed weapon. Gali broke out of her thoughts when Hakann’s eye lasers struck one of her aqua axes, heating it up drastically and causing her to drop it with a yelp of pain.

Hakann readied another blast, but Gali gathered her energy and bombarded him with as much water as she could. The brute was blown backwards, but soon his laser vision sliced through the deluge, and he stood tall and haughty as before. Gali readied another water attack, but Hakann’s eyes flashed again, and this time she felt as though something struck her mind.

The world went black for a few seconds, and she tripped and stumbled. When her senses returned, she felt completely disoriented. She soon became aware that the air around her was heating up to uncomfortable levels. Gali squinted at Hakann, who was grinning wildly. She gritted her teeth and tried blasting more water in his direction, but she felt exponentially weaker than before.

“You bastard,” she grunted, and was struck with another mental wave. This time her senses didn’t return, and darkness overtook her consciousness.

* * *

Kopaka saw Gali fall out of the corner of his eye, and the sight filled him with cold rage. He couldn’t run to her side, because two more brutes had appeared on the scene. Hakann had disappeared, and in his place was a tall one with green hair holding a three-bladed weapon and another with long brown hair wielding a large pickaxe. Kopaka wasted no time firing ice spikes in both their directions. The green-haired one dissolved into millions of tiny particles, and the spikes went right through harmlessly. The brown-haired one dove to one side and the spikes narrowly missed.

Kopaka sprinted forward, and conjured up an ice slide on which he effortlessly skated on. He fired icy spikes in all directions, chasing the two brutes about. The green-haired one managed to slip away using his strange power, and Kopaka lost view of him in mere minutes. It didn’t matter; he kept after the brown-haired one. Suddenly, the brute whirled and held his hands out. Kopaka struck something invisible and fell onto his back. He sprang to his feet, but his progress was impeded again. He reached a hand out, and cried in pain as he felt it burn. He tried escaping in every direction, with the same result.

Somehow, this being had trapped him in a cage of pure heat. Kopaka sat on the ground, and forced his mind to calm. He called upon all the powers of the ice he held, and released it outwards in an icy blast. Much to his dismay, the heat increased, and sweat began pouring down his face and neck. Kopaka breathed heavily, and released more energy. The ice was dispelled immediately, and the heat rose to oppressive levels. The air was getting too thick to breathe, and he felt himself slowly weakening with every bead of sweat.

“Good luck getting out of there,” the brown-haired brute taunted, “I designed that cage just for you.”

Kopaka couldn’t wonder how he had made the cage out of nothing, because his mind was fogging up from the waves of suffocating heat. Through blurred vision, Kopaka watched his comrades get battered again and again by the brutish creatures. With one last look at Gali’s unconscious form, he slipped into oblivion.

* * *

Onua had taken a hard hit from Reidak in a small bout of hand to hand combat, and Pohatu and Lewa each took an arm and helped him back onto his feet. Lewa felt his anger beginning to build up inside him. He heard Reidak’s mocking laughter and stared at the brute with pure loathing. He let go of Onua’s arm and strode forward.

“Hold on, Lewa,” Pohatu said.

“He’s mine,” Lewa snarled, not looking back.

“But—,”

“—he’s mine!” Lewa repeated with intensity. He began sprinting, and he watched Reidak’s every movement as the brute braced himself for the attack. A split second before Reidak’s fist connected with his head, Lewa dove under his legs, and hit the brute from behind with a blast of wind. Reidak fell forward onto the ground, and Lewa spun and leapt onto his back. With a powerful blast of wind propelling him forward, he pinned Reidak with one knee, and twisted one of his massive arms behind his back.

“You broke something of mine,” Lewa said, tightening his grip as hard as he could, “Perhaps I should quick-return the favor?”

Stone bands rose from the ground and wrapped around Reidak, locking him to the ground. Lewa looked up to see Pohatu, still supporting Onua with one arm. The Toa of Stone pointed behind him.

“Leave this one here,” he said, “The others need our help.”

* * *

First Tahu heard a buzzing sound fill his ears, then he saw the green cloud settle in front of him, finally taking the shape of another brute: tall, green-haired, with horns. He also held a three-bladed weapon. Tahu glared at him, crossing his fire swords in front of himself.

“And what are you supposed to be?” he said. The green-haired brute seemed to wear a permanent cold glare of contempt.

“Zaktan,” he said, “Leader of the Piraka.”

“Piraka?” Tahu said, wondering where he’d heard the term before.

“Yeah, the matoran slur,” Zaktan explained impatiently, “Means thieves and murderers.”

“Seems to fit,” Tahu said, and fired a bolt of flame at Zaktan, who dissolved and avoided the blast completely. Tossing his green hair, he hoisted his strange weapon with one arm, and settled into a fighting stance. Tahu did the same, and the two slowly circled one another.

They decided to attack at the same time, and their weapons collided, showering them both with sparks. Tahu pushed against Zaktan, who pushed against him twice as hard. Tahu could feel his back foot sliding in the dirt, and replanted it as firmly as he could. He and Zaktan broke apart and began circling again. As each awaited the other’s next move, Tahu thought of his teammates that were slowly losing to these Piraka, and felt heat in his chest slowly rising to the surface. He couldn’t let them win.

Zaktan thrust his weapon forward, and Tahu spun out of the way. He planted his feet, and released another blast of fire, which Zaktan avoided easily with his strange ability. Tahu gritted his teeth, and swung his swords, sparring with the Piraka for what felt like the longest few minutes of his life. Their weapons locked again, and this time Zaktan didn’t give him the chance to react before shoving him backwards as hard as he could. Tahu stumbled back, and felt his foot slide and meet empty air. He glanced back and saw the cliff, and promptly leapt forward, trying to land a single blow on Zaktan with his swords.

“This is boring,” Zaktan growled, and his arm—as well as his weapon—dissolved into tiny particles as he thrust forward. Tahu braced himself to feel the stabbing pain, but instead he felt as though his whole body was buzzing. The particles that made up Zaktan’s arm swarmed within his body, and when the pain began Tahu let out a scream he never thought could come from his throat.

It was unbearable. It was like his whole body was on fire. He screamed, and his muscles twitched uncontrollably. His swords slipped from his grip, and he convulsed, and wishing with every screaming fiber of his being that the pain would end.

Soon it did. Tahu’s vision began to fade, but he could see Zaktan’s arm and weapon reform. Unable to scream anymore, and unable to stop himself, Tahu teetered backwards and felt himself begin to fall. Zaktan caught his arm, and roughly pulled him back up. With his last few moments of consciousness, Tahu heard one last taunt from the Piraka.

“I haven’t made you suffer enough yet,” Zaktan said, and his face split into a wide dastardly smile.

* * *

Pohatu, Lewa, and Onua arrived on the scene and saw Gali, Kopaka, and Tahu’s unconscious forms strewn about the mountainside. Struck with a strong combination of anguish and rage, Onua clenched his fist hard on the handles of his drill weapons.

“Lewa, create as big a windstorm as you can,” he ordered, and turned to Pohatu, “and you run and grab Kopaka. I’ll take out the brown-haired one and get Gali. Lewa, that leaves you to rescue Tahu.”

His companions nodded to him, and Lewa thrust his arms upwards, calling forth all the powers of the winds. A raging vortex formed around their opponents, kicking up dirt and dust, and disorienting them. Pohatu sped towards Kopaka in the blink of an eye, and hoisted him onto his back. Onua opened a tunnel beneath his feet, and quickly dug through the earth. He sensed the one named Avak above him, and punched the earth upwards. The brown-haired brute went flying and landed hundreds of yards away. He didn’t stir. Onua climbed out of his hole, and scooped up Gali. Hoping Lewa could get to Tahu in time, he sprinted for cover, where Pohatu was already waiting.

Lewa appeared next to him in the next instant, panting heavily, and carefully placing Tahu on the ground in front of them. Once Onua had confirmed that their three companions were still alive, he exchanged looks with Lewa and Pohatu.

“Now what?” Pohatu asked, his eyes wide with worry. Onua looked up to the rocky ledge where Zaktan stood. The green-haired brute fixed him with his steely gaze.

“Thok!” Zaktan barked. Another brute appeared next to him, with light blue hair and beard, looking completely disinterested.

“What?” Thok said, his voice full of disdain.

“Wipe them out,” Zaktan ordered. Thok rolled his eyes, and lazily snapped his fingers. Onua gasped as the mountainside came to life as a hundred-foot-tall stone giant. It took a slow heavy step towards the Toa, making the ground shake. Before Onua could think of what to do, Pohatu shot forward, and focused his power, causing pieces of the rock creature to crumble and collapsing the giant in minutes. Pohatu then used his power to send the falling debris after the remaining brutes, forcing them to take cover.

Onua saw Hakann appear once again, and he felt a sharp mental spike stab at his mind. He completely lost all sense of where he was for a few seconds. He saw Pohatu and Lewa fall unconscious. The disorientation cleared from his mind, and Onua looked around at his fallen friends, the ones he had fought many battles with. The ones he knew he could stand beside when things got rough. The ones that he had rediscovered Metru Nui with, along with Takanuva. Onua looked up, and saw Avak recovering, Reidak breaking out of his stone bonds. Zaktan and Thok stood nearby, waiting patiently. Hakann had once again disappeared, but still. Four unimaginably powerful brutes against one Toa.

Onua no longer cared what happened to him. As long as he could cause harm to the bastards that hurt his friends, he could die happy. He remembered Turaga Whenua once told him of a Toa power that only should be used in the direst of circumstances—the Nova Blast. He began sprinting forward, a primal scream escaping his throat.

Onua released every ounce of elemental energy he had into a single devastating blast that shook the very mountainside. The ground broke up into smaller pieces, and slabs of earth shot towards the sky. Avak went flying off into the horizon. Zaktan stumbled and hit his head on a rock before dissolving into a cloud of particles and vanishing from sight. Reidak fell off a cliff, and tumbled down hundreds of feet, hitting boulder after boulder along the way. Thok also fell and was lost from view.

Whether it lasted an eternity or an instant, Onua couldn’t tell. All he knew was that he had nothing left in him. His arms fell limply to his sides, and his legs buckled beneath him. He collapsed into the ground face first. All he could feel was complete and utter weakness taking over, and soon his vision faded and his mind went black.

* * *

Balta had heard a great commotion on the mountainside, and had gone to check it out. He stayed behind rocks, glancing every which way. He pressed himself closer into the shadows when he heard Zaktan’s footsteps, as well as Vezok’s unpleasant voice.

“Why didn’t you assholes tell me there were Toa to fight?” the blue-haired brute snarled.

“Someone has to stay behind and watch the matoran,” Zaktan answered evenly.

“I could’ve ended the battle way earlier!” Vezok hissed.

“Shut up and do the job I gave you,” Zaktan shot back, and his footsteps left. Vezok spat on the ground furiously. Balta peeked out from behind cover. Vezok stomped about, muttering angrily to himself. On the ground directly behind him lay one of the weapons Zaktan had made; the one that could turn matoran into mindless slaves.

Vezok walked away to kick a boulder off the cliff, and Balta scrambled towards the weapon, and grabbed it. Without even looking back, he began sprinting.

“Hey, bring that back you little bastard!” Vezok’s footfalls were catching up to him already, and Balta’s legs quickened. He ran as hard as he could, and quickly ducked into a nearby cave, hoping to lose the brute. Much to his dismay, Vezok stopped the pursuit. Balta stopped running as well, but when he turned to look out of the cave entrance, it was sealed shut with a boulder. His heart sank. _Idiot_ , he scolded himself. He pounded against the rock, but only succeeded in hurting his shoulder. Balta sank to the floor, wondering how long he had before he suffocated.


	6. A Land of the Dead

The six matoran from Mata Nui tread slowly through the darkened tunnel, each grasping the length of rope that held them together as a group, each hoping that any second they would see a light at the end and meet up with Takanuva once again. Matoro brought up the rear, and tried to mentally stop his own hands from shaking. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

As a Ko-Matoran, he was adapted to the cold, but this felt entirely different. The tunnel was unearthly, empty, and not even light could exist in here. They were walking through a void. Matoro tried desperately not to think about what could be in this unnatural darkness with him and his companions. His foot hit something, and he tripped. If his friends noticed, they didn’t make a sound. Matoro tried calling out to them, but nothing came out of his mouth.

As he struggled to stand up, he felt something. He reached out to it, and he felt a hand wrap around his own. He felt a surge of relief, it was probably one of the others who had fallen as well. Grasping the hand in the darkness, Matoro lead it carefully through the tunnel. He felt a tug on the rope around his waist, and soon he could see a tiny amount of light up ahead, though he still couldn’t see his companions, or his own hand in front of his face for that matter.

But that pinprick of light drove him forward. After a long time watching that pinprick grow larger and larger, Matoro finally stepped out of the tunnel. He looked up at his six companions, Takanuva included. He smiled in relief, but a thought struck him. He could still feel a hand gripping his. His mind racing, he looked down and saw nothing. The invisible hand slipped out of his and when he reached out for it again, his hand only met empty air. Matoro glanced down at his own hand, his heart thumping hard.

“Matoro, is something wrong?” Jaller asked. Matoro looked at him and shook his head. Jaller smiled at him, “Alright, then let’s keep going.”

Matoro trudged after his companions, wondering if he was losing his mind.

* * *

The landscape that loomed before Jaller and his companions consisted of a narrow stone strip of land that cut through the center of a raging sea. The sky was a washed-out brown like the stone below it, and emitted a weak glow. He couldn’t tell where the suns were, if there were any at all. Perhaps the “sky” was just a rocky dome above their heads. In the distance rose a large stone archway, and beyond that the stone path continued through a mountainous wasteland.

“If anyone wants to turn back, don’t hesitate to speak up,” Jaller said to his companions. He surveyed them all, and each shook their heads.

“I’m not going back through there,” Kongu shuddered, pointing backwards at the light-eating tunnel.

“We agreed to this, Jaller,” Hewkii added, “We’re with you all the way.” Hahli nodded her agreement. Jaller looked up at Takanuva, who lightly punched his arm. Jaller smiled.

“Okay, then let’s rest for the night,” Jaller said, and everyone voiced their agreement.

Jaller sat alone, keeping watch while the others slept. Takanuva had wandered off to explore a bit. He noticed Matoro toss and turn on the ground for a while before the Ko-Matoran gave up on sleep and sat up next to him.

“Anything?” Matoro asked.

Jaller shook his head, “Nothing. Not even a single insect,” he glanced sideways at Matoro, who had a distant look in his eyes. “Back at the tunnel,” he began, and he saw Matoro flinch just slightly, “What happened in there?”

“Nothing,” Matoro said, still staring straight ahead.

“You sure? You looked pretty shaken up…”

“No, really, it was nothing. I think that’s what scared me,” Matoro said, “Just…the pure _nothingness_. This whole place is…dead.”

Jaller nodded in silent agreement. The two sat quietly for a few long moments, staring up at the rocky sky above.

“Did Metru Nui feel at all familiar to you?” Jaller’s question broke the silence, and Matoro met his gaze.

“No. Not really,” he said.

“Yeah, I was thinking about that ever since we arrived. When I got to Ta-Metru, I didn’t feel…anything. It didn’t trigger any memories or anything. If the Turaga’s stories are true, then our induced comas really did a number on us.”

“The stories are true,” Matoro said, and Jaller felt a tiny bit surprised by the statement.

“How can you be sure?” Jaller asked, feeling a twinge of guilt in his chest. He couldn’t quite forget how much his trust in the elders had been shaken recently.

“When Turaga Nuju and the others spoke of the past,” Matoro paused for a second, “it was like I could see the past in their eyes. They were not lying about what they went through.”

Jaller searched Matoro’s face. The Ko-matoran was staring off into the distance, though his eyes had a fierce glint in them.

“Everything the Turaga did or said was all for us,” Matoro said with conviction, “Even keeping us in the dark. They did it to protect us.”

He was a smart matoran, and Jaller decided that he trusted his judgement. He cracked a smile as he felt relief wash over him. Jaller was about to respond when he heard Takanuva’s hurried footsteps behind them. He turned to face his friend.

“I saw someone!” Takanuva exclaimed, “A matoran, on the other side of that arch!” The Toa of Light pointed into the distance towards the stone structure. The others began to stir from their sleep, and one by one they pushed themselves to their feet.

“What did I sleep-hear Takanuva say?” Kongu yawned, “A matoran in this death-place?”

“Yes,” Takanuva said, “Let’s go see if he needs help.”

“Right, let’s go, everyone!” Jaller said, and the seven companions began half-jogging and half-running towards the stone arch. Sure enough, someone came into view. A lone matoran, walking slowly and awkwardly as if he were injured. He was well beyond the arch, and the group quickened their pace. They passed under the arch, but all stopped short when Takanuva cried out from behind them.

Jaller whirled to see his friend, still standing before the arch. Takanuva tried to run under it and fell backwards as if he’d hit an invisible wall.

“What the hell?” Takanuva groaned as he pushed himself up again. He reached a hand out to the arch, and it bounced back, once again hitting the invisible wall. He conjured a concentrated beam of light from his hand, but it bounced off harmlessly. “What is this?” Takanuva said, distress rising in his voice. Jaller ran up to him, and when he tried crossing back under the arch, he too was thrown back. He stood, and tapped the barrier with his hand. On the other side, Takanuva pressed both his hands on the barrier, his eyes shining.

“What is this?” The Toa of Light repeated. Hahli came up from behind Jaller and tapped the barrier.

“And why can’t we go back?” Matoro added, his voice shuddering slightly.

“Nuparu?” Jaller asked the Onu-Matoran. But the inventor shrugged.

“There’s nothing mechanical about this archway. Sorry, but this isn’t something I can explain.”

“Something wants us to stay here,” Hahli said with a hint of sadness in her voice, “And it’s somewhere a Toa can’t follow. I might have read something about this in one of the Knowledge Towers…”

Jaller stared into Takauva’s eyes. His friend was clearly distressed, and still had his hands pressed against the barrier as if eventually he’d be able to phase through it.

“This isn’t fair…” Takanuva’s voice trailed off, and his blue eyes filled with tears, Jaller tried to hold his gaze, but feared of getting choked up himself.

“I’m sorry, Takanuva,” Jaller said, “We have to keep moving.”

“Please, Jaller, this has to be a trap,” the Toa of Light said desperately, “If you hold on, I can find a way through this barrier—,”

“—I don’t think that’ll be possible,” Jaller said, meeting his friend’s sad gaze. Takanuva’s gaze dropped, and he dropped one hand while keeping the other pressed against the barrier.

“I might never see you again,” Takanuva said, “and I can’t even reach you…to say goodbye…”

Jaller fought back tears as he placed his own hand against the barrier, right where Takanuva’s was.

“We’ll see each other again,” Jaller said, hoping it was a promise he could keep. Takanuva sniffed, quickly wiping a tear that had slid out of his eye. He forced a smile.

“Just…don’t die, okay? I already saw it happen once,” the Toa of Light said, “It’d make for a lousy chronicle if it happened again.” Jaller smiled back at his best friend, nodding silently. As he turned away, he heard his companions whisper their own goodbyes to Takanuva. Hahli was the last to speak to him.

“Keep Metru Nui safe. Tell the Turaga what happened. We’ll be back before you know it,” she said, her voice wavering slightly towards the end.

“I will,” Takanuva said. Jaller looked back, and saw his friend begin walking away from the barrier, back to the lightless tunnel to Metru Nui. A heavy lump sat in Jaller’s chest, but it was alleviated slightly when he felt Hahli’s soft hand slip into his. He and his companions walked in silence, keeping the lone matoran on the horizon within their sights.

Jaller put on a brave face for the journey, but inside he was fighting down an intense combination of disappointment and sorrow. Worst of all was a fear that nagged at him from the back of his mind: What if this _was_ a trap?

* * *

Jaller and the others walked for a long time, following the lone matoran who continued to limp ahead of them. It was a long and tiring struggle up a stony slope that seemed to just keep going.

“Okay seriously, where’s the top of this thing?” Nuparu asked after a long while.

“It feels like we’re climb-walking to nowhere,” Kongu added.

“You miners and tree swingers are out of shape,” Hewkii said, pulling ahead, “Po-Matoran climb slopes like this every day without thinking about it.”

Hahli smirked, “But put you in some water and you sink like a rock.” Hewkii laughed in response.

A loud scraping, skittering noise reached Jaller’s ears. He and his companions froze, and scanned the environment with their eyes and ears. They cautiously continued walking, but stopped when the sound reached them again.

“Sounds like a giant crab,” Hahli commented, squeezing Jaller’s hand.

“That’s exactly what we need,” Kongu said dryly.

But they all kept going. After a long while, the slope began leveling off, and they were drawing closer to the lone matoran up ahead. They followed him through the entrance of a large stone valley. The rocks were shaped strangely, as if they’d been frozen in the middle of exploding. Within the valley, the scratching noise started up again, and up ahead they could all see the lone matoran being flanked by two gigantic crablike creatures.

“You don’t think those…” Hahli started.

“Maybe,” Jaller said, “The crabs Akamai and Wairuha fought underneath Mata Nui.”

“They certainly fit the description,” Matoro said. They continued to follow the matoran. As they passed through the valley, Jaller could feel the creatures’ gaze on them, but they made no move to attack. Soon he felt as though more eyes were boring down on them. He glanced up, and saw rows of matoran up on cliffs staring down and him and his companions with empty, lifeless eyes.

“I don’t like this place at all,” Matoro shivered.

“We won’t be here long,” Jaller reassured him, “We just need to—,”

The ground shook, and the group’s attention turned to a volcano in the distance that spewed forth large chunks of ice. One chunk landed right next to Matoro, who nearly jumped out of his skin. He reached out to touch it and recoiled quickly and let out a yelp.

“It’s hot!” he cried.

Jaller approached it, and held his hand out. His fingertip brushed its clear surface and pain shot up his arm.

“He’s right,” Jaller grunted, waving his hand about.

“I’m with Matoro,” Nuparu said, “I don’t like it here. Let’s get a move on.”

They all traversed the bizarre landscape, passing through run down villages of more dead-eyed matoran who toiled away at menial tasks, looking like they’d given up on everything a long time ago. A lot of them were deformed, with injured and twisted limbs. A few had no arms at all, or were missing a leg. Every once in a while, lightning would crack in the sky overhead, but it made no sound. They passed by a river made of flowing sand.

“This place is like a nightmare,” Hewkii commented.

“Think of it as your new home,” a raspy, ancient voice filled the air.

Jaller glanced behind them, and all his companions turned around as well. Perched up on a rock formation was the strangest being any of them had ever seen. His skin had a strange glassy appearance, like he was ancient but also unchanged in all the millennia he’d existed, and with stitching running across his face as if it were four faces stitched together. He was completely bald and had deep black eyes that seemed to look straight through them all. He was wearing mismatched armor, patchy and damaged in places. He grasped at rusted chains that wrapped around his arms.

“Ten thousand years,” the being breathed, his voice cold and whispery like he hadn’t used it in all that time, “ten thousand years since I last had guests.”

Jaller stepped forward boldly, “Who are you?”

“I haven’t been referred to by name in many millennia,” the being rasped, “But you can call me Karzhani.”

There was a collective gasp.

“So, yet another legend comes true,” Kongu said grimly, “There _is_ a hell.”

“You know nothing,” Karzhani spat, his chains rattling, “My realm is a sanctuary for damaged matoran.”

“As you can probably tell,” Jaller said, trying to keep his voice even, “We aren’t damaged. We’re just passing through. If you could let us by—,”

“—No one leaves!” Karzhani arched his back like an agitated animal, “If you object, I will show no mercy.”

Jaller let go of Hahli’s hand and took another step forward. “Try me.”

“Jaller,” Hahli whispered worriedly.

Karzhani rose to his full height, his hollow eyes peering down at Jaller. “Very well,” he rasped.

Jaller felt as if his very mind was struck by a dagger, and when he opened his eyes…

_He was back at Kini-Nui, months earlier. His best friend Takua was being stalked by a rahkshi. He could see Takua was clutching the Stone of Light tightly in his hands._

_The rahkshi hit Takua with a burst of fear power, and his friend froze in place, eyes wide with terror. He knew what he had to do. He had to distract the creature, buy time for Takua to get away. But his legs wouldn’t move. Jaller screamed inside his mind, but his body was locked in place. He watched in terror as the rahkshi’s staff came down on Takua. There was an explosion of blood, and his friend dropped lifelessly to the ground. The Stone of Light rolled out of his hand, and the creature swiped it up, screeching in triumph._

_Jaller stared into the empty eyes of his dead friend, feeling a searing pain in his chest. The landscape changed, and he could see a clearing near Le-Koro in which three of the Toa Nuva, Gali, Onua, and Kopaka were locked in a desperate battle against a swarm of a dozen more rahkshi. Tahu, Lewa, and Pohatu were lying on the ground, in pools of blood. Soon the three remaining Toa Nuva, dripping with sweat and blood running from several wounds, were surrounded by the creatures, and were struck dead like their comrades._

_Another shift in landscape. This time he stood on the slopes of the Mangai volcano, overlooking Ta-Koro. There were legions of matoran down below wearing heavy chains around their wrists and ankles. Several servants of Makuta forced them to work day and night, building up a dark empire. Underground, the Turaga were held captive. Turaga Onewa led an escape from their prison cell, but were ultimately struck down by more rahkshi. Jaller then saw himself and Hahli, stationed on either side of a massive twisted throne on which Makuta sat. They wore chains, which Makuta held in his hands._

Suddenly the vision was gone, and Jaller became aware that he’d fallen on the ground, and tears were streaming down his face. His breathing shallow, he looked around to see he was once again back with his companions in this strange realm. He closed his eyes, repeating to himself: _Takua lived, he became Takanuva. He defeated Makuta. The matoran are safe in Metru Nui. Takua lived. Takanuva is alive._

He became aware of Hahli clutching him by the shoulders.

“What did you do to him?” she demanded, glaring up at Karzhani.

The strange being’s hollow expression didn’t change. “He has seen a horrible alternate history.”

“I’m okay, Hahli,” Jaller said, wiping his tears and taking a deep breath. He clutched her hand, and she gave him a strained smile. He put on a brave face, but underneath the residual hopelessness and despair lingered. He knew he’d saved Takua in real life, but seeing the consequences of what could have been brought up a new fear: what if one of his companions died because he was helpless to save them? What if he lost Hahli or Matoro because he didn’t act fast enough?

“Since you are here now, you should begin work,” Karzhani said, turning and limping awkwardly away, “Everyone that comes here must work. Tend to the fires. Prepare the tools. Except you,” he pointed a long bony finger at Hahli, “You are a keeper of history, are you not?”

“Um, yes,” Hahli said, visibly stiffening.

“I want to know more of the outside world. I have not seen it in perhaps millions of years. I have many questions, and you have nothing but time.”

“Actually,” Hahli snapped, “We have somewhere to be. I’d tell you to go to hell, but we’re already there. I’m staying with my friends, and that’s final!”

“Perhaps you’d like a taste of what your dear friend experienced?” Karzhani gestured towards Jaller, who still was trying to fight the despair of what he’d witnessed.

Hahli glanced back at her companions, who all wore similar expressions of concern and fear. She met Jaller’s gaze. He took a deep breath, and let it out.

“Do what he says,” he said in a half-whisper, “Don’t worry about us.” Hahli’s brow furrowed, and she closed her eyes for a moment to compose herself. She met Karzhani’s hollow black eyes.

“Fine,” she said, “I’ll tell you everything you want to know and more.” Her voice was defiant, but Karzhani looked pleased anyway.

“Very well. Follow me, small one. The rest of you must get to work. There’s much to do. Don’t idle for long, mind, or you’ll turn to stone.”

As Hahli left, trailing cautiously behind Karzhani, Matoro helped Jaller to his feet. The five matoran stared after their friend.

“When he said we’ll turn to stone, was that literal?” Nuparu asked aloud.

“Unfortunately,” Kongu said, and all eyes fell on him and a statue of a matoran he was standing next to. The field up ahead was littered with matoran statues, and beyond them were more dead-eyed matoran, with stone slowly creeping up their legs and torsos.

“Now, how about an escape plan? I’m open to ideas,” Hewkii half-joked. No one was in the mood to laugh.

* * *

Back on Voya Nui, Garan returned to the hideout after a whole day of reconnaissance. He had kept an eye on the false Toa all day, and unsuccessfully tried to hypothesize what they were trying to accomplish. The enslaved matoran were digging trenches that ran into the volcano, and just recently the lava began to drain out. Some matoran were tasked with collecting the lava and disposing of it. Garan couldn’t imagine what the point of it all was. He conversed with the rest of the Voya Nui Resistance Team.

Velika spoke up first, speaking in riddles as always, “He who would empty a lake of fire must have a long spoon.”

“Could you speak plain matoran, please?” Kazi grumbled.

“With the matoran as their ‘long spoon,’ they can empty the volcano,” Garan said.

“But why empty it?” Piruk asked, scraping his shredder claws together.

“They must think there’s something in there,” Garan answered. Piruk’s eyes widened.

“I just remembered! When they first arrived, Thok demanded that I tell him where ‘the treasure’ was! Whatever that is, it’s probably in the volcano…”

“And that’s why they’re draining it,” Kazi finished, “But is there really something that valuable on this island?”

Garan’s mind flashed back to the small oasis he Piruk and Dalu found weeks ago. Did that have something to do with this “treasure?”

“Hey, has anyone seen Balta?” Dalu asked, “He’s been gone all night and day.”

“I sent him to spy on the false Toa, to see if he could swipe one of their weapons. But I haven’t seen him since,” Garan said, worry growing in his mind.

“And did anyone hear the ruckus last night?” Kazi added, “It sounded like a nasty earthquake or something.” All the gathered matoran nodded.

“Something must have happened to him,” Dalu stood tall, clutching her weapons hard, “Let me go look for him.”

“I’ll go too,” Piruk said. All heads turned towards him. He was no longer scraping his shredder claws together, instead he held his arms to his sides, and his posture was much straighter than before, “We can’t afford to lose anyone right now.”

Garan cracked a smile, “We’ll all go. We stay together from now on.”

“What about the hideout?” Kazi asked, “No one will be left to guard it.”

“The time for hiding is over,” Garan declared, picking up his pulse bolt generators and gripping them in his hands, “Now, we fight. And we fight together.”

“Unity, Duty, Destiny,” Velika said, smiling.

“Finally, he says something I understand,” Kazi said amusedly.

The five set out from their hiding place in search of their friend. Garan let Dalu take the lead, and as he brought up the rear of the group, he glanced at all his companions and felt pride swell in his chest. No matter what would happen, he trusted them all and vowed that even if it took his life, he would fight beside them until the end came.

* * *

Balta’s eyes just barely adjusted to the darkness of the cave Vezok had sealed him in. He tried to keep his breathing shallow, for fear of running out of air. He felt along the rocky walls for the seventeenth time, trying to find any kind of crack or opening. He picked at some loose rocks, but it gave way to absolutely nothing. But he couldn’t afford to panic. He’d just waste valuable air.

He paced back and forth. Balta noticed the dark shape of the weapon he stole on the floor next to him. Would Vezok come back for it? Maybe it would buy him a few seconds to escape. How long has he been in here? Maybe the false Toa will never come back. Maybe losing his weapon was worth it if it meant the death of an unruly matoran. Balta sank to the floor, head in his hands.

How much air was left? It was already feeling a bit thin. Maybe he was just panicking. He took a deep breath to calm himself, but it didn’t help. He’d just used up some more precious air. He stood up and began feeling around the wall again, praying to Mata Nui that he’d find a way out before asphyxiation took hold.

There was a sharp _bang_ the came from the other side of the tunnel wall. Balta leapt back from the wall, and his heart kicked hard against his ribs. _Bang._ It sounded closer this time. _Bang._ Balta lifted Vezok’s weapon with great difficulty, pointing it at the wall. _Bang_. Balta wouldn’t go out without a fight. _BANG._ Balta ducked as small stones rained down on him. He opened his eyes and saw the tunnel wall was completely collapsed. And a large armored figure stood in the opening.

The stranger was a taller and more muscular than any of the false Toa, and wielded a large battleaxe. His eyes were fierce, but held a wisdom that could rival a Turaga. He had a short beard and a short strip of hair that ran front to back in the center of his head. He held out a large hand to Balta, who felt frozen in place.

“It’s alright,” he said in a voice with a rough edge to it, “I can get you out.”

Balta swallowed, and found his voice, “Who are you?” he said.

“Let’s just say I’m a friend,” the stranger said, taking a step back from the opening in the wall, “This is all I can do for you for now. My duty requires me to be elsewhere.” He began walking away.

“Hey, wait!” Balta cried, and scurried after him, still clutching Vezok’s weapon. He ran through the jagged tunnel, losing sight of the stranger rather quickly. Before he realized it, his eyes were pierced with blinding sunlight, and his lungs took in a much-needed breath of fresh air; at least, as fresh as you could get on Voya Nui.

Blinking and adjusting to the new level of light, Balta scanned the area for his rescuer. But he was nowhere to be seen. He panted heavily, filled with equal parts wonder and confusion. Grunting, he hoisted up the stolen weapon in his arms, and began trotting towards the hideout, sweat breaking out on his forehead. He thought of the armored stranger the whole way, mind reeling with questions.


	7. Friends or Foes

Dull burning pain still coursed through his body as Tahu slowly regained consciousness. He was lying on the rocky ground, too weak to move a single muscle. His blurry vision refused to clear up much, but he could see the fuzzy outline of the Piraka Reidak standing over him, holding something silver. Hakann appeared by his side, holding a similar object, shaking it and holding it up to examine it.

“This is some sturdy shit,” Hakann was saying. All the Piraka’s voices sounded slightly muffled. One of his ears rang. Tahu still couldn’t will his own body to move.

“How much do you think it’d go for?” Reidak asked. Another Piraka came up next to him. He had long blue hair. He looked down at Tahu and his companions, scoffing.

“So, did you kill them or what?” he grunted.

“No. They’re pretty tough,” Reidak commented, “Great fight, though.”

“Yeah, nice going, by the way. You gave away your position before you were supposed to, dumbass,” Avak said, joining the conversation.

“Hey, we beat them, didn’t we?” Reidak said. Hakann dropped the silver object and ducked out of Tahu’s line of vision. He heard a sharp kick and a pained grunt off to his left. Hakann reappeared.

“One of them was moving,” he grinned. Tahu felt anger flare up inside him. It sickened him to think of these brutes hurting any of them. But still his limbs wouldn’t move. Pain exploded inside his body again, and an unintentional grunt escaped his throat. His eyes adjusted, and the blue-haired Piraka’s face appeared inches from his own.

“This one’s moving too,” the brute commented, and Tahu felt a sharp kick to his side send radiating waves of pain throughout his whole body. His vision nearly faded again from the sheer agony.

“Get his armor off and throw it on the pile,” Zaktan’s cold voice cut through the air like a falling icicle. Tahu’s mind finally sorted out that the silver things Hakann and Reidak were holding were his companions’ silver armor plates. He began to feel the metal bands around his shoulders and back loosen, and his own armor was lifted off him. The shoulder pieces were removed as well. He also caught a glimpse of Reidak picking up his twin magma swords and tossing them in the pile. He couldn’t do anything but lay there and feel the pain sizzling in his body.

“We can sell this stuff once we’re off this damn island,” Zaktan said, “Now, you five bring them up to the volcano.”

“And do what?” Reidak asked.

“Throw them in, obviously,” Hakann scoffed.

Panic coursed through Tahu’s veins, nearly canceling out the pain. Feeling utterly powerless and weak, he felt himself get lifted off the ground and tossed over Reidak’s shoulder. Tahu mustered up just enough strength to crane his neck, and saw that on Reidak’s other shoulder was Kopaka, hanging limply. Behind him, the blue-haired Piraka carried Onua. He couldn’t see anything else.

His mind reeled as the Piraka carried them up the slope of the volcano. The air began to thicken with smoke, and the pungent yet familiar odor burned in his nostrils. Tahu felt like he was shaking. Soon he realized it wasn’t him, and it wasn’t Reidak either. The brute stopped in his tracks, struggling to keep balance. The shaking stopped, and Reidak adjusted Tahu and Kopaka on his shoulders.

“Hurry up,” the blue-haired Piraka growled, “This Toa of Earth isn’t getting any lighter.”

They had gotten only a few meters further before the ground shook again, this time much more violently than before. The odor was stronger now, and the smoke thickened even more.

“Not good!” Hakann yelled over the noise, and Tahu heard him drop something—probably one of his Toa teammates—onto the hard ground. Heavy footsteps traveled away from them and faded into the distance.

“Get back here!” the blue-haired Piraka shouted after him, “Get back here and finish the damn job!”

The ground shook harder, and the mountain itself began to roar like a great beast.

“Screw that, I’m getting out of here!” Reidak shouted. Tahu felt himself hit the ground. After a few minutes, the heavy footsteps of the Piraka were completely gone; the volcano was so loud it muffled everything else. Fear grew within him, and Tahu began to feel a tiny bit of renewed strength in his sore limbs, just enough for him to push himself to his feet. He looked around to see his companions begin to rise as well.

His relief gave way to panic again when he looked up to see lava beginning to ooze towards them. An explosion within the volcano rocked the ground, and from its peak debris and fire spewed forth. With great effort, Tahu activated his kanohi, summoning a shield that surrounded himself and all his companions. Lava and rocks bounced off it, but already Tahu felt the mental strain of keeping it up.

“Tahu!’ he heard Pohatu’s voice from behind him. He turned to see the Toa of Stone rising slowly to his feet. Pohatu raised his fists, and in front of Tahu’s shield rose a great wall of stone. Tahu dropped the shield and let out a sharp breath, panting for a minute. He still felt so weak, and with his armor gone and his weapons no longer on hand, he felt exposed and vulnerable. Lava began flowing around Pohatu’s stone wall, oozing past the Toa harmlessly.

One by one, Tahu’s other companions began to rise to their feet. Each was in great pain, but they all managed to recover just enough to begin making their way back down the slope. Lewa was being supported by Onua, and Kopaka by Pohatu. Gali trudged behind Tahu, her silver hair disheveled and falling in front of her eyes. She tripped on a rock, and Tahu managed to catch her arm in time.

“In there!” Pohatu said, pointing to a cave on the slope. No one argued, and the Toa all ducked into the small opening where they crouched together. Pohatu closed up the entrance, leaving a small opening towards the top for air. They huddled together, waiting for the eruption to end and taking time to rest. Gali managed a cool mist of water that Kopaka chilled with his own powers, keeping all of them from the suffocating heat of the eruption.

Tahu glanced at all his companions. Seeing all of them wearing simple clothes with no armor was so strange. It was like they were all just a bunch of scared matoran. He clenched his jaw. Those Piraka were leagues stronger than the rahkshi. In fact, they made the Toa Nuva’s victory over the rahkshi seem like a fluke. He clenched his hands into fists, feeling ashamed. He led his team into this failure, all while the Great Spirit’s life depended on them.

Gali must have sensed he was troubled, because she placed a hand on his arm. He felt himself relax a bit. Soon, the shaking outside faded, and the noise stopped. Tahu and the other Toa waited for a few more minutes, the only sound in the cave being their labored breathing. Pohatu brought down the stone wall, and they all exited the cave.

The surrounding slopes were already smoothed with cooled lava. Heat still rose from cracks, and the air was thick with smoke, but at least the eruption was over. Though severely weakened and coated in ash and sweat, the Toa Nuva were all still alive. Each Toa checked themselves for broken bones or any other serious injury that needed treating. After wrapping their injuries, and fashioning a splint for Onua’s arm, which he had broken in the scuffle with Reidak, the Toa stood in a circle.

“Now what?” Lewa asked, his eyes wide, “How could we possibly fight-win against those guys?”

“Are we sure we’re in the right place?” Pohatu asked half-jokingly, “Maybe the Ignika is on a really nice island where there aren’t any Piraka?”

“No, this has to be Voya Nui,” Tahu said, “The Turaga programmed the canisters to take us directly here.”

“We’re here. The Ignika is here. If we have to go through the Piraka to get it, then that’s what we’ll do,” Kopaka said, his face hard as stone.

“We just need a better strategy,” Onua added.

“We know their capabilities now,” Gali chimed in as well, “Next time, we’ll be better prepared.”

Tahu smiled at all his teammates, proud that they were still determined to go forward with the mission. It gave him confidence that after they all recovered, they could face the Piraka again. _Next time, those brutes won’t be so lucky_ , he vowed silently.

“Who’s up there?” Pohatu asked, and Tahu and the other Toa followed his extended index finger up to a cliff above them.

Suddenly, a small burst of purple energy struck the ground in front of Lewa, who backflipped out of the way. Another blast sent rocks and dirt into the air and rained down on them. Each Toa took a fighting stance, standing firm even without armor and weapons. Tahu sighed inwardly. _Now what?_ he thought angrily.

Gali ducked as another blast of purple energy sailed over her head and blasted the rock formation behind her. A few small boulders tumbled down, and she dove out of the way before they crashed to the ground. She panted heavily, sweat pouring off her. She barely had enough strength to muster up even a small wave.

Up on a cliff above her and her companions stood six angry looking matoran. All of them were firing blasts of energy from strange-looking weapons they all wielded. Her eyes met ones that belonged to a Ga-Matoran, who gazed fiercely back at her. The Ga-Matoran crossed her weapons in front of herself and a wave of energy struck Gali’s very mind.

Suddenly, everything was vibrating violently, like she was seeing every molecule that made up everything around her. She saw the grains of sand and dirt on the ground, every cell that made up the bodies of every living thing on the island, everything swirling and buzzing and burning. Staggering, Gali grunted with pain and closed her eyes tightly, which didn’t do any good. She could see every cell that made up her eyelids, and past them to every single atom in the entire world all around her.

Panic overtook her, and she began screaming, her eyes and brain burning and buzzing. She ran this way and that, scrambling in circles, completely frightened and too panicked to think of what to do next. She covered her eyes with her hands, but again it did no good; she could still see absolutely everything.

“Gali, what’s wrong?” the voice was Tahu’s, but Gali was so disoriented she had no idea where it was coming from, and she flailed her arms about, trying to find something solid to grab on to.

Another wave of pain hit her, and this time her hearing got amplified as well. Every pebble or grain of sand that scraped against one another was like a thunderclap. She could hear the breathing and heartbeats of everyone in the vicinity, like a bombastic and terrifying storm of sound.

“What’s wrong? Gali?” Tahu’s voice cut through it all, louder than the sound of a volcanic eruption. Gali pressed her hands against the sides of her head, but it did nothing to muffle any of the sounds around her. She screamed again and threw a punch. It hit something, she thought she heard Tahu yell, but everything was swirling around her in a hellish din that she couldn’t sort out anything that was going on.

So, she ran. She didn’t know where she was going, but she didn’t care. She just wanted the madness to end. Everything was too vibrant, too loud, too terrifying. Her head hurt, like the walls of her mind were collapsing in on themselves. _I don’t want to see anymore, I want to go blind, I want to go deaf, please just make it stop!_ she screamed, either out loud or inwardly, it was impossible to tell.

While dodging the attacks from the angry matoran above them, Onua saw Gali run away, screaming wildly. Nearby, Tahu was nursing a bloody nose she had given him. He caught a glimpse of Kopaka, his eyes burning with icy rage, who had just flash-frozen two of the attacking matoran. Onua turned towards the remaining matoran on the cliff again. He felt unbearably heavy and tired; after using a nova blast and carrying his arm in a sling, Onua felt utterly useless. As much as he could, he raised his hands in surrender.

“Please,” he called up to the attacking matoran, “We mean you no harm!”

The matoran stopped attacking, and peered down at them, clearly suspicious. The Onu-Matoran stood above the rest, his green eyes filled with resolve.

“Who are you?” the matoran demanded, fists clenched hard on his small, strange weapons.

“We’re the Toa Nuva,” Onua pleaded, glancing around at his companions, all of which were panting heavily, some bleeding with new wounds. Kopaka’s chest was heaving angrily, a sight which Onua never thought he would see; he almost looked like an Ice-Toa version of Tahu.

“Toa, huh?” the Onu-Matoran grunted, unimpressed, “The last ‘Toa’ we got enslaved the lot of us. Forgive me if I don’t jump for joy at your arrival.”

Onua wondered what he was talking about. The only other entities on the island he and his companions had encountered were the Piraka…did they have something to do with this?

“Look, I’m telling the truth. We are Toa. We protect matoran, not enslave them.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“Because we have a common enemy,” Tahu said, standing next to Onua. He also had his hands up in surrender. “Those Piraka, am I right?” The matoran’s gaze switched between the two Toa. Soon, the rest of the Toa Nuva—aside from Gali—had lined up and held their hands up as well. The other matoran stopped attacking as well. The Onu-Matoran clenched his jaw and lowered his weapons.

“Why did you come here?” he asked, his green eyes peering into Onua.

“It’s a long story,” Onua said, “If you come down here, we can tell it to you.”

“If you raise a finger against my comrades—,”

“—We wouldn’t think-dream of it,” Lewa piped up, thumping his chest with his fist, “Heart-promise.”

The Onu-Matoran’s face seemed to relax, and he gestured for his companions to lower their weapons. While Kopaka carefully thawed the two matoran he had frozen, the other four matoran on the cliff climbed nimbly down to face the newcomers. The Onu-Matoran brought up the front, and he sheathed his weapons and held his hand out to Onua, who shook it gladly.

“I’m Garan,” the matoran said, and gestured to his companions, “And we are the Voya Nui Resistance Team.”

* * *

Gali was still running. Eventually she threw herself to the ground, screaming and shaking in fear and despair. _Please make it stop, please make it stop, I can’t take it!_ she screamed over and over. The whole world was still a swirling mass of colored dots and shapes, coupled with swirling, piercing, intrusive sounds.

As she writhed in agony on the ground, wishing for any kind of relief from this waking pulsating nightmare, footsteps on the rocky ground exploded in her ears. She looked up, but all she could see was a vibrating mass of atoms buzzing in a strange formation. She grabbed for one of her weapons, only to be reminded that they had been taken by the Piraka. She blinked, still seeing everything, and nothing.

“Do you require assistance?” a deep voice reverberated, sending shooting pains through her ears and into her brain.

“Stop! Stop! It’s too loud! It’s too much!” she shrieked. She pressed her hands against her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. Still, it had no effect on the assault on her senses.

“Hold still. Let me help,” the vibrations of the stranger’s vocal chords were immensely loud. His thunderous heartbeat pulsed in her ears. There was a clanking and scraping of metal against metal, metal against rock. Gali feared her head would explode.

She felt something touch her forehead, and suddenly it was all over. Her vision cleared, and returned to normal. All the noise died down, and now she could only hear the gentle rushing of wind, and her own panting breaths. The relative silence was so soothing, so wonderful, that she nearly cried with relief. Gali looked up, and saw a towering giant standing above her. He wielded a gigantic axe and wore heavy armor. He withdrew his hand from her.

“Now you can return to your companions,” he said simply, and turned to walk away.

Gali sprang to her feet, and almost called out to him. But she decided against it. The steadfast way he carried himself, the resolve in every one of his steps suggested that he had somewhere to be. She stared after him for another moment, then began jogging in the other direction.

* * *

Garan walked alongside the Earth Toa Onua, in deep discussion. The more they talked, the less suspicious he felt, and the more he began to feel a bit of hope again. Onua and his companions were nothing like the Piraka; they seemed to fall into the description of the Toa from legends he and his matoran friends had always heard.

“…and they took our armor and weapons,” Onua was saying, “Do you have an idea of where they’d put them?”

“Their stronghold, most likely,” Garan answered, “We can take you there.”

“They were the strongest opponents we’ve ever fought,” Onua said, “Aside from Makuta himself, that is.”

“Makuta?” Garan said, his mind recalled a vague mention of the name.

“A shadow among the shadows, a twin and enemy of the light,” Velika broke in. Garan stared at him. Sometimes he wondered where Velika got all those sayings from.

“That just about sums him up,” Onua said, chuckling softly.

They talked some more. Onua, with the occasional input from one of the other Toa, told of their mission, of their search of a mythical artifact that was supposed to save the life of Mata Nui himself, and of the consequences of their failure.

“So, the universe will die,” Garan said.

“You don’t sound too upset about that,” Pohatu said, a hint of humor in his voice.

Garan laughed, gesturing to the barren landscape around them. “I live here. I figured my days were numbered anyway.”

“Gali!” Tahu exclaimed, and all followed the Toa of Fire’s gaze behind them, where the Toa of Water was sprinting towards them. Once caught up, she panted heavily and fell in line with the group.

“Are you okay?” Tahu asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“I am now,” Gali said, smiling at him.

“Sorry about that,” Garan said to her, and she fixed him with her blue eyes, “Dalu’s weapons pack one hell of a punch.”

“Where did you guys get weapons like that?” Onua asked.

Before Garan could answer, the Toa of Air Lewa cried out from the front of the group.

“Is that the stronghold?” he asked, a bounce in his step. At least a half-mile away rose the Piraka stronghold, a blocky and tough stone structure which he’d seen his fellow matoran build with their own hands.

“That’s it,” Balta answered for him.

The group reached the entrance. Piruk hid up on a nearby cliff, acting as lookout. Toa Pohatu was the first to approach the main entrance. He knocked on the walls and the door, pressing his ear to the building like he was listening to them.

He drew back his fist, and it connected solidly with the door without leaving a dent. Pohatu grunted in pain and waved his hand about.

“Let me try,” Tahu offered. He stepped up to the door, and tried melting down the handle. He blasted it with heat. Still it stood. “What the hell is this made of?” he grunted.

“Guys, Piruk is signaling!” Dalu said, withdrawing her weapons, “Someone’s coming!”

They all ducked for cover in the surrounding rock formations. Soon Reidak appeared, striding towards the stronghold. Garan crouched behind a boulder next to Toa Lewa and Onua. But much to his dismay, Toa Lewa crept out from behind cover, and began walking towards the Piraka.

“Hey, you oversized bastard!” Lewa greeted loudly, and Reidak whirled to face him.

“You again? Are you asking for another ass-kicking, or what? I think I owe you some pain,” Reidak grinned, cracking his knuckles noisily.

“I think you owe an apology to the universe for existing,” Lewa sneered, and Reidak’s grin fell into a scowl. He threw a punch, and Lewa ducked, causing Reidak to instead punch a great dent in the stronghold’s door. He went after Lewa again, who rolled and summersaulted away from the Piraka’s massive fists. Once again, Reidak’s punch missed Lewa and instead hit the door. It dented in even more, and began to fall off its metal hinges. Realizing what Lewa was doing brought a grin to Garan’s face.

“I can see you going down in history as the Great Reidak,” Lewa taunted, “The Defeater of Doors!”

After Lewa danced around for another few minutes, dodging each swing of Reidak’s fist, Reidak went for one last punch, and at the last minute Lewa grabbed his arm, and using the Piraka’s momentum, tossed Reidak over him and through the metal door, smashing it completely off its hinges. The Piraka lay stunned, and Lewa glanced back at everyone, cocking his head towards the entrance, grinning broadly. Reidak pushed himself to his feet and sprinted into the stronghold, lost from view in a matter of seconds. Garan and the others came out from behind cover, and they all rushed inside the stronghold.

“Let’s get him!” Dalu cried, but surprisingly it was Toa Tahu that grabbed her arm and held her back. She flashed a glare at him.

“He’d probably just lead us into a trap,” Tahu said calmly. Dalu still glared, and Tahu continued firmly, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years as a Toa, it’s that you shouldn’t rush after an enemy without thinking, _especially_ if you really want to.”

Dalu’s face relaxed and Tahu let her arm go. Gali nudged Tahu playfully.

“Look at you, all grown up,” she smiled, and Tahu smiled in response. They quickly became serious again, and the twelve companions walked deeper into the stronghold, lit only by a sparse placement of lightstones in the walls.

Piruk led the way, having learned his way around the stronghold in the past week or so. They all reached a small chamber in which all kinds of weapons and shields hung on the walls and were piled in the corners. It didn’t take long for the Toa Nuva to rummage through the piles to find their weapons and armor. Once they were all fitted back in their armor and carried their weapons, Piruk led them and the Voya Nui Resistance Team down into the lower chambers of the stronghold, where Zaktan hid all the time. They entered Zaktan’s chamber through a smaller tunnel that ran above it for ventilation. Garan and the others crawled quickly and as quietly as they could, stopping to peer through the small holes under them, where they could see Zaktan still standing in front of that large vat of the virus that turned Voya Nui’s residents into mindless slaves.

Zaktan was talking quietly with someone, and Garan adjusted his position to get a glimpse of who it was. He was a giant. He wore heavy armor, and he had a large sharp double-bladed sword strapped to his back. He had long yellow hair and a short, pointed beard. He nodded while Zaktan talked, face hard as stone.

Just then, Avak Thok and Vezok entered the chamber, all wearing expressions that could kill. Without warning, Avak thrust up his arms, and a transparent cube formed around Zaktan. Zaktan dissolved into a swarm of particles, and struck at the sides of the cube, but with each strike it rang with a high, piercing sound, that made him scream in pain. Avak folded his arms, flashing an ugly smirk.

“My finest work,” he said. Zaktan reformed, and glared at him. Next to Avak, Thok leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets. He gestured towards the large stranger on the other side of the chamber.

“Who’s that?” Thok asked, suspicion in his voice. Zaktan just glared at them both. Hakann burst into the room.

“Hey, what’s going on in here?” he said casually, and saw Zaktan trapped in the prison Avak created, “Oh, what’d I miss?”

“Seems the ‘Great Leader’ decided we’re not good enough for him anymore,” Avak spat, meeting Zaktan’s burning gaze.

“Where’d you find him, huh?” Thok said, striding over to Zaktan’s cage, circling it, “When were you gonna tell us you got a new pet?”

The giant stood by and did nothing, still completely stone-faced. Thok noticed he was walking a bit too close to the virus vat in the center of the chamber, and began stepping backwards, keeping his eyes on Zaktan the whole time.

“The treasure was for all of us, right? Split six ways.” Thok continued, “And now we need to share it with this freak, too?”

Suddenly, Reidak appeared in the entrance to the chamber and he grabbed Hakann from behind, and tossed him. Hakann slammed into Avak, who hit the floor hard, and the cube holding Zaktan dissipated. Instantly, Zaktan blasted Thok with his particles, knocking him back into the wall.

Complete chaos erupted in the chamber as the Piraka pounded and slammed into each other. The giant stood by, his eyes lacking slightest spark of interest.

Garan became aware of himself again, and Dalu nudged him from behind. Up ahead, the Toa Nuva were making their way through the rest of the ventilation tunnel, and Toa Onua punched a hole for all of them to drop down to the chamber floor. They all stood in formation, facing the Piraka, who were so busy fighting amongst themselves that they didn’t notice their approach.

But the giant saw them. His deep cold blue eyes pierced straight through Garan, who felt his muscles lock in place. He was even bigger than he would have expected, standing at least a foot or so taller than the Piraka. Toa Tahu stepped forward boldly, facing the warring Piraka.

“Looks like you’re trying to kill each other. Mind if we lend a hand?” Tahu taunted. All the Piraka stopped fighting, and each pair of savage eyes fixed on the twelve new arrivals. Tahu and the Toa Nuva and Garan and the Voya Nui Resistance Team took their fighting stances, waiting for the Piraka to make the first move.

No one in the room moved a single muscle.

“Piraka, the Ignika can still be ours,” Zaktan declared, “once these Toa Nuva are dead!”

None of the other Piraka made a move. Reidak’s eyes switched between the other Piraka and the Toa and the matoran. Thok’s eyes were distant, like he’d rather be anywhere else at the moment. Avak and Hakann exchanged a look. Vezok’s hand twitched slightly, like he was itching for a fight but unsure what move to make. Zaktan’s expression darkened.

“Fine, if you idiots won’t help…Brutaka!” he shouted. The giant’s piercing gaze fell on the Piraka leader. Zaktan met his gaze without a trace of fear.

“Help me, and the virus is yours,” he said. The giant called Brutaka unsheathed his large sword, and took a few long heavy steps towards the Toa and Matoran.

Tahu didn’t even need to give the command. The six Toa and six matoran all charged forward, raising their weapons and letting out a collective battle cry. It all happened so fast: the giant waited, and as the twelve companions were preparing their first attacks, he swung his sword. Garan felt an impact, pain exploded inside him, and everything went dark.

The stranger watched from the shadows. As the twelve brave and foolish companions fell, and crimson blood pooled beneath them, he felt his heart constrict. He gripped his axe hard, fighting the potent rage and grief rising inside him like magma. He peered at Brutaka, who stowed away his sword and turned to the Piraka leader.

“You’ve got a deal,” Brutaka said. Zaktan nodded.

The stranger could feel the weight of his axe, of his armor. Suddenly he felt old and tired. Brutaka, the one he had once called friend, had become so lost. And he had just cut down the last defenders of Voya Nui in one fell swoop. He gritted his teeth, his sorrow and rage filling his limbs with strength and resolve. He stood.

_The Piraka will not win_ , he declared silently, _In the name of the Order of Mata Nui and the Great Spirit, in time they would know pain unlike they’d ever felt in their miserable lives._


	8. Dark Destiny

Jaller worked the forge, keeping the fires alight. He couldn’t see the point of this labor, other than to keep Karzahni satisfied and out of the way. He still couldn’t shake the cloud of fear swirling in his chest. _Takua lived. Takua lived. Takua lived. But if he had been killed by that rahkshi, the entire matoran race would be enslaved now. If I fail to act in the future, it could mean all our lives_ , he thought, _even the death of the whole universe_. He glanced at his companions, hard at work, toiling pointlessly.

_We’re wasting time here_ , he thought, _we need to get to Voya Nui as soon as possible. Who knows what could have happened to the Toa Nuva? What if they were captured, or killed?_ Jaller shook his head, hoping it would dislodge these nagging worrying thoughts from it.

Jaller stopped his work for a second to look around. Both inside and outside the forge, broken matoran either sat about as stone slowly crept up their legs, or they worked slowly and limply, like they were running on automatic, without a conscious thought left in their heads.

Hewkii walked up to him, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Hey, so we need a plan, and fast,” he said.

“I completely agree,” Jaller said, “But where’s the exit to this place?”

“I’d like to ask someone here, but…” Hewkii trailed off, gesturing towards the dead-eyed matoran all around them. Jaller sighed and nodded in agreement. They heard a shout of protest outside, and they exited the forge together in a hurry. Their other companions had also gathered to investigate.

Karzahni had returned, and he was dragging Hahli roughly by her arm. Hahli grunted through gritted teeth, trying to wrench her arm free from the strange entity’s grip. He threw her to the ground.

“Lies,” he spat, glaring down at her, “It’s all _lies!_ ”

Hahli rose to her feet, brushing the dust off herself, and meeting Karzahni’s glare with defiance.

“All this talk of a ‘Great Spirit’ and an entity of darkness…and the universe _dying_ ,” Karzahni rasped, circling Hahli like a muaka cornering its prey, “Nothing but _lies_.”  
“You can say whatever the hell you want,” Hahli snarled, “But it’s all true. Your realm has been lost to the legends. There are greater things happening out there, things beyond your control.”

“ _Nothing is beyond my control!_ ” Karzahni shrieked, and silent lightning flashed overhead.

“If our universe crumbles, your realm is going down with the rest of it,” Hahli said, hands on her hips.

“ _No more lies, no more!_ ” Karzahni said shrilly, raising his chained arms above his head, no doubt about to strike her with them. Jaller sprinted forward and skidded to a halt in front of Hahli. He held his arms out protectively.

“Don’t you dare hurt her,” Jaller growled. Karzahni scoffed, but lowered his arms.

“Your little friend is a liar,” he said, “She will be worked to the bone as punishment.”

So Hahli was tasked with chipping away at giant boulders with an unsharpened pickaxe. She worked up a sweat and was breathing heavily after only a few minutes. Jaller glared at Karzahni, who slowly limped away, chains clinking together loudly.

Once the strange and despicable ruler of this realm was out of sight, Jaller caught a glimpse of one of the damaged matoran staring at him and his companions. The matoran’s glazed eyes fell on him, and after a moment of staring at him, the matoran stepped forward. Every inch of him was ragged and dirty, and one of his legs was crooked. His every movement was labored, and his eyes were wide, almost crazed, like they’d seen far more than even those of the oldest Turaga.

“Are you six newcomers?” the matoran rasped.

“Yes,” Jaller answered, “But we don’t plan on staying much longer.”

“You mean…” the matoran’s eyes seemed to widen even more, “…you plan to escape?”

“Of course,” Nuparu broke in, “We’ve got somewhere to be.”

The damaged matoran shook his head violently, and his eyes got even wider. “No, no, no, no,” he said in a near-whisper, “Not possible.”

“If there’s a way in, there’s a way out, right?” Nuparu said.

“No, no,” the damaged matoran began wringing his hands nervously, “You can’t. Too many manas…roads that lead nowhere… to go across the sea back to the land of the living…”

“There must be a way,” Jaller said, stepping cautiously towards the shivering matoran.

The damaged matoran shook his head again. “You’d need a shiny canister…like a Toa…the shiny canisters can go anywhere…”

“Wait, shiny canisters?” Jaller said, and he and Nuparu exchanged a look with one another. “The ones the Toa came in?”

“Sh-shiny…” the damaged matoran said, “canisters…for the destined ones. We made them thousands of years ago…or millions? Time has no meaning here…The canisters carry the destined ones…”

“Where? Do you have any more?” Nuparu asked, an excited glint in his eye that mirrored how Jaller was feeling at the moment.

“Yes, could you show us?” Jaller asked eagerly. The damaged matoran backed away slowly, stumbling a bit on his crooked leg.

“You cannot take them…only the destined ones take the canisters…We made them thousands of years ago…or was it millions? We made them for Gali and Tahu…and Pohatu and Kopaka and Onua and Lewa…”

“You knew the Toa?” Hahli asked, appearing next to Jaller. Soon their other companions had gathered. The damaged matoran fixed his glassy eyes on each of them, backing up a few more paces.

“They float in the canisters…only Toa can do that…the canisters…the shiny canisters…”

“We’d really like to see them,” Jaller said carefully, “The craftsmanship, it must be exceptional.”

The damaged matoran seemed to brighten a bit, and even cracked a strange and awkward smile. “Oh, yes, we made them…so long ago…but with the best materials…far from here…before coming here…but we built more…yes, the craftsmanship, no one can replicate…”

“Please, can you take us?” Jaller asked as patiently as he could muster. His heart was pounding. They may have found a way out.

“I can take you,” the damaged matoran said, limping away, “but you must never ride the shiny canisters…only the Toa…the canisters carry only Toa…”

Jaller caught up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. The damaged matoran flinched at his touch, but didn’t back away. Jaller gave him a friendly smile.

“Hey, may I ask you your name?” he asked. The damaged matoran’s wide eyes became more clouded, and his gaze wandered down to the floor, and up towards the dark sky.

“My name…” he said, “Can’t…remember…millions of years, perhaps thousands…I don’t remember…”

“Oh,” was all Jaller could say, feeling a flash of sympathy for him. All these matoran, wasting away, forgetting themselves…this place truly was hell. He allowed the matoran to take the lead, and he and his companions all followed him along winding paths and through a stony valley until they reached the entrance of a tunnel.

“Great, I was beginning to miss dark-tunnels,” Kongu said with dripping sarcasm.

“This way,” the damaged matoran said, hobbling ahead of the group. Jaller followed close behind, glancing around at the rocky walls. There were symbols carved into them, mostly pictures and diagrams with captions he couldn’t read. It must have been an ancient matoran dialect. After a long, winding descent underground, they reached a large circular chamber. In the center of it was an immense pool of water. Suspended directly above the pool were six large silver canisters, hanging from metal braces on the ceiling. Metal stairs led up to each canister’s opening. Jaller glanced back at his companions, all of which were looking up in awe. Nuparu in particular had a spark in his eye: that spark he got when his technical curiosity was beginning to take over.

“They’re magnificent,” Nuparu said, reaching into his bag for his tools.

“Yes, the finest materials…they must be made of…the finest…for the destined ones,” the damaged matoran limped to the edge of the pool, looking up at the suspended canisters.

“Figure out how they work, and fast,” Jaller said to Nuparu, who nodded, “Then we can leave.”

The damaged matoran spun around, wide eyes glittering with fear, “No, no, no! You can’t! Only Toa…only Toa can ride them! Too…too dangerous…You will not survive the journey!”

“Hey, dying in these is better than living here,” Kongu said. Hewkii nodded in agreement.

“No, no, you don’t understand…” the damaged matoran began to tremble. Nuparu had already reached the pool and began climbing the metal stairs that led up to the canisters.

“We appreciate your concern,” Hahli tried reassuring him, but the damaged matoran paced in circles, trembling and muttering to himself. She continued, “but we need to leave as soon as possible, and this seems to be the only way.”

“No, no, no, no…”

“But thank you for your help,” Jaller said. The damaged matoran didn’t seem to hear his statement.

“This is bad…very, very bad…”

“Come with us,” Jaller offered, holding his hand out to the damaged matoran.

“Can’t, no, no,” the damaged matoran shied away from Jaller’s beckoning hand, “It’s been far too long…I don’t know where I’m from anymore…who my friends were…they are dead to me as I am dead to them…”

“Anywhere you go will be better than here,” Jaller said.

“I am home…can’t leave… the canisters…they are only for Toa…”

“Well, well,” a cold voice interrupted. Jaller and his companions—aside from Nuparu, who was busy tinkering with the canisters—lifted their eyes to the entrance of the chamber. Standing hunched in the doorway was Karzhani.

Matoro stared into Karzhani’s cold black eyes, all his muscles frozen in abject terror. The terrifying being slunk forward, his rusted chains clinking and scraping against the stone floor.

“I can’t have these in my realm,” Karzhani’s gaze was fixed on the canisters, “They must be disposed of…”

No one moved a muscle. Matoro’s mind raced. How could seven matoran—one of them insane—possibly stand up to a foe like this in a fight? This couldn’t possibly end in any other way but a fight…they couldn’t very well let him destroy their only means of escape…

“Like it or not,” Jaller said boldly, “We’re leaving this place. We may be the only ones left to save the universe from dying.”

Karzhani’s gaze shifted to the Ta-matoran, black eyes blazing with cold fury. “The universe _is not dying!_ You are _full of lies!_ ”

“Not this again—” Hahli began.

“— _There is no dying Great Spirit! There is no Makuta! And there is no way you are leaving my realm!_ ” Karzhani screeched, and with a flick of his wrist, he whipped out his chains, and Hahli and Jaller and the others managed to duck before getting hit. The chains struck the rocky walls of the tunnel, and the sharp metallic sounds reverberated through the chamber.

Matoro felt something inside him, despite his throbbing heart, a stone cold feeling of defiance. He took a step forward, towards the mad ruler of this realm. Taking notice of him, Karzhani’s eyes shifted towards him, and pierced into his. But Matoro held that cold gaze. His hands clenched into fists.

“This whole journey, I was terrified,” Matoro said, his voice the only sound in the chamber, “A large part of me wanted to turn away and run back to Metru Nui and I would have gladly let the universe crumble around me. When I and my companions arrived here, I thought this was it. This would be our final destination, where we’d be tortured and broken like this poor matoran,” he gestured towards the damaged matoran, who was still pacing and muttering under his breath.

“Make your point,” Karzhani snarled, a hissing ancient snarl, “Or I will show you a vision of pain unending.”

“Okay,” Matoro said, taking another step forward, “Do it.” He heard his companions gasp behind him, but he held his ground, and peered back into Karzhani’s empty eyes.

“You asked for it,” Karzhani hissed, his chains rattling.

_Everything spun about and dissolved, reforming into the ruined city of Metru Nui. The air was thick with despair and grief. Matoran huddled together under the cold dark sky as the suns slowly dimmed and their light was extinguished. Takanuva tried desperately to use his power to keep the population alive, but it wasn’t enough. Everything grew cold. Rahi and matoran alike froze and died. Cries of despair rose from the matoran hovering over the bodies of the dead._

_The sky got darker with every passing hour, as stars flickered out like weak flames. Soon the matoran and Turaga and Toa began evacuating the city, only to drift into a dark lifeless ocean. No refuge could be found, for the universe itself was ceasing to be. There was nowhere to hide. One by one, the inhabitants of the universe slipped into the cold sleep of death._

_Alone on a small barren island, a shivering Takanuva carved out one last Chronicle, a memorial to the matoran, the Turaga, and the Toa, into a rocky wall. It was the only thing he could do. He knew no one would ever read it. He curled up on the rocky ground, one last tear flowing down his face before he lay still forever. Everything collapsed, all the continents, and even the sky itself…_

Matoro fought down the despair the vision brought, and continued to stare into Karzhani’s eyes, which began to fill with fear.

“No,” the ancient being said, beginning to tremble, “the universe…will die…Mata Nui’s death…my realm will cease to be…a power greater than mine…” his chains rattled, and he stumbled, despair shining in his dark eyes.

“Save the universe! There is still hope!” the damaged matoran cried.

Matoro turned to his companions. “Let’s go!” he shouted. Though his friends all looked shaken by the vision Karzhani gave them, they all sprinted towards the silver canisters. Nuparu was stuffing his tools back into his bag.

“I think I got them working! Everyone get in, and press the large red button. That should get us going!” the Onu-matoran shouted.  
“Okay!” they all said in unison. Matoro scrambled into his canister, his hands shaking. He sat himself in the seat, in front of a large and complicated control panel. He jammed the large red button with his fist, and the canister hissed. The top closed up, and with the loud roar of machinery, Matoro felt the canister drop and splash into water. He gripped the sides of the seat as the canister shot forward with unimaginable speed.

As his canister hummed, no doubt getting further and further away from that hellish realm, Matoro felt his shaking hands relax. Fear still fluttered in his chest, but he also felt a great sense of relief. At last, their mission could continue. They’ll get to Voya Nui, find the Toa Nuva and the Ignika, and they could save Mata Nui before it was too late.

Soon, Matoro felt an overwhelming weakness begin overtaking his body. He fought to keep his eyes open, but the edges of his vision were growing dark. His heart had slowed so much, he wasn’t sure it was even beating anymore.

His world went dark as his mind drifted into the void.

* * *

Brutaka stood on the highest cliff of Voya Nui, a chilling wind whipping through his hair. With the Toa and matoran out of the way, the Piraka had begun moving forward with their plan. He personally found it a waste of effort; going down into a volcano to retrieve an artifact that probably didn’t exist. Mata Nui had abandoned this universe a long time ago, leaving it to rot.

A large figure came up over a hill. He recognized it instantly, that large stature and even larger battleaxe. A pair of fierce green eyes stared into his own blue ones. The figure stopped a few yards away from him, and the two stood facing each other silently. The wind blew past them, but neither of them shuttered.

“Axonn,” Brutaka said. Axonn shifted his axe to his other shoulder. “What do you want?”

“To put an end to this. To bring you back to your senses.”

“You’re wasting breath and time.”

“Brutaka…”

“You can’t change my mind.”

“I didn’t want to do this,” Axonn readied his axe, gripping it in both hands, “but it seems there’s no other choice.”

Brutaka unsheathed is double-bladed sword, and planted his feet to the rocky ground. He peered into the eyes of the one he once considered a friend. But that past was far behind him, and he wouldn’t yield, not even to him. Before either one of them made a move, lightning flashed overhead.

It wasn’t ordinary lightning. Both Brutaka and Axonn’s focus shifted upwards. A blazing red star hung above them. It glowed brighter until the rocky formations around them were bathed in red light. Another bolt flashed from it, splitting into six red branches, and struck six objects that floated in the sea, a mile from the sandy shore of Voya Nui.

In an instant, the light faded and returned to the normal dimness of nighttime. Brutaka, taking advantage of Axonn’s distraction at the objects floating towards shore, took the opportunity to slip away.

_We’ll fight another day_ , he thought as he faded away into the shadows of the night.

* * *

Dazed and fatigued, as if waking up from a strange nightmare, Jaller opened his eyes. Everything was pitch dark. A loud hissing noise filled his ears, and he heard a loud metallic bang. A round opening was suddenly in front of him, and he could see sand bathed in silvery starlight. He made his way through that opening, and salty air filled his nostrils. He stepped out of the silver canister, his boots sinking into the sand.

He blinked. He wished for some more light, so he could see if his companions’ canisters landed safely. No sooner had the thought formed in his mind that a bright yellow flame blazed from his hand, lighting up his surroundings in golden light.

His breathing shallow, he glanced down at himself. He was taller, more muscular, and he wore gleaming red armor. He looked about. Hahli, Kongu, Matoro, Hewkii, and Nuparu had all emerged from their own canisters. And they had all changed like he had. Their eyes were strange; they glowed brightly in the darkness. They all looked upwards at the same time. Jaller knew they were all looking up at the red star like he was.

There were no gasps of surprise, no cheers of excitement. The air was dead and somber. Jaller reached behind him, and his fingers closed around his new weapon that was latched to his back. All his companions did the same, and as each of them gripped their new tools, electricity sparked and traveled between them.

This was the beginning. Jaller knew it, and he knew all his companions knew it. It was in this moment that a new era of their lives would begin. They all now carried the burden of Toa, the burden of keeping the universe from collapsing on top of them and all they held dear.


	9. New

Garan woke up, surrounded by cold rocky walls. He lay on his back, feeling the soreness in his limbs without even moving a muscle. He took great care into testing out each of his fingers, his hands, and slowly flexing his arms. Nothing seemed to be broken. He did the same with his legs. He was all in one piece. And miraculously, he was not dead.

He pushed himself into a sitting position. As slowly as he could, he rose to his feet. His muscles screamed in protest, and he leaned against the wall for support. He tried taking a step, but his knees gave out and he collapsed to the floor. Groaning, he lay there for another minute, taking deep breaths as if it would ease the soreness in his body. He clenched his fists. His pulse bolt generators. Where were his pulse bolt generators? Rolling onto his side and pushing himself up again, Garan scanned the inside of his cell. But his tools were nowhere to be seen. There was nothing to be seen, other than the cracks, bumps, and cervices in the stone walls.

There was a loud _bang,_ and Garan’s head shot up. He saw a door open in front of him. Vezok entered, carrying a lightstone. The blue-haired Piraka ground his teeth, a sound that made Garan’s skin crawl. He stared defiantly into those cold blue eyes, but was forced to squint when Vezok crouched in front of him and brought his lightstone right in Garan’s face.

“I’m going to ask you a simple question, and you will give me an honest, simple answer,” the Piraka said. Garan glared at him, even though the light burned his eyes.

“Yeah, I know how you Piraka value honesty,” Garan spat.

“I’d cooperate if I were you,” Vezok stood up to his full height, and slid open a small hidden control panel in the stone wall. He pushed a button, and Garan felt the floor beneath him shift slightly. It tilted down, and from the crack a wave of sweltering heat washed over him.

“How many are in your resistance group?” Vezok asked, his sharp teeth gleaming in the light. Garan stared him down. After a minute, Vezok pushed the button again. Garan felt the floor beneath him tilt more, and felt himself start to slide down the incline, towards a pool of bubbling lava. He grabbed onto the stone floor to keep himself from sliding further.

“You don’t have a lot of chances to give the right answer,” Vezok hissed, “You will talk eventually.”

Garan snorted, “You don’t know matoran very well.” The floor tilted more, and Garan tightened his grip on the stone. The heat was smothering him, breaking him out in a sweat. His fingers hurt, and his arms were shaking, but he kept his grip tight on the stone. He would not die here.

“I know matoran,” Vezok said, “whiny little bastards, running to Turaga and Toa to solve their problems.”

“We haven’t had a Turaga in a thousand years,” Garan said, his voice strained as his hand almost slipped, “We’ve stood on our own for all that time. And we’ll keep standing well after you and your buddies are Takea shark food.”

The floor tilted more. The heat thickened in the air, and Garan’s grip was slackening. He was shaking all over. But he would not yield. He would not accept a fiery death.

“What do you know about the Ignika?” Vezok growled.

Garan stayed silent. The Toa Nuva had described it to him and the resistance team. He knew enough about it to know that the Piraka should never get their hands on it. Vezok made the floor tilt more, and Garan lost his grip and slid further towards the lava. He caught onto another rock, his fingers, hands, and wrists screaming. Sweat trickled out of every pore.

“Last chance,” Vezok paced impatiently above the dangling matoran, “There was lightning. A red bolt of lightning that split into six. What was that?”

Garan’s mind raced. What was he talking about? He considered adjusting his grip, but gave up when he realized it would result in him slipping and falling into the fiery pit.

“A trick, I suppose? Some kind of stupid prank?” Vezok hissed.

“I don’t know, you ugly bastard,” Garan spat.

“Fine then,” Vezok said, his voice full of bitter disgust. With another tilt, the floor completely gave way. Garan clung to the edge of the opening, legs dangling uselessly over the fiery pit. Garan closed his eyes as the sweltering heat threatened to suffocate him.

* * *

Jaller and his team tread carefully across the unfamiliar landscape. They were all still overwhelmed by their transport, and their unexpected transformation. They all ducked into a nearby cave to rest. Jaller lit a small campfire with driftwood Hahli had found on the beach, and the six companions sat around it, staring at each other with their strange new glowing eyes. Jaller had noticed and pointed out that the hair of his companions had changed colors in their transformation; Hahli’s was a deep blue, Kongu’s was leafy green, his own had turned bright orange, Matoro’s white hair now had a light blue streak, Hewkii’s brown hair had a yellow streak, and Nuparu’s black hair had a green streak. Their armor was shaped completely different from the armor of the Toa Nuva, and their clothes underneath were made of extra-thick flexible and durable material.

“We died back there, didn’t we?” Hewkii broke the silence, and all eyes fell on him. “We died in the canisters, and something brought us back…”

“…as Toa,” Hahli finished, her eyes troubled.

“Did we actually, though?” Nuparu said, he pointed at Jaller, “Hey, you died back on Mata Nui. Was it like that?”

Jaller felt taken aback. He hadn’t thought of that event in months, but the memory rushed back to him, chilling him to the core. “I don’t think so,” he said slowly, taking a deep breath, “I don’t think we died. But something did transform us.”

He glanced at Matoro, whose eyes were fixed on the dark sky. He followed his gaze, and saw it. That burning red star again. He felt another twinge in his chest when he gazed at it.

“Okay, so, we’re Toa-heroes now,” Kongu interrupted Jaller’s thoughts, “Now what do we do?”

“We can reasonably assume this is Voya Nui,” Jaller said, “If the canisters brought us here. That means we find the Toa Nuva, we claim the Ignika, and we return to Metru Nui.”

“Before we do anything, we should probably test out our new powers,” Hahli spoke up. The others nodded in agreement, and each conjured up a small amount of their elemental powers. Stranger still, their elements also sparked with electricity. Kongu stared at his hands, looking troubled.

“The elemental part comes easy, but…remember how long it took the Toa Metru to discover their kanohi? We don’t know how much life-time the Great Spirit has. By the time we figure it all out, it could be past-late,” he said.

“I agree,” Jaller said, “But we also can’t rush forward without a plan. I’m not carrying on that Fire Toa tradition, like Vakama and Tahu before me.”

“What exactly activates kanohi anyway?” Nuparu asked, “It’s not like I can just wish for it to work.” Nuparu promptly shot upwards and hit his head on the ceiling, dropping like a stone. Hewkii unsuccessfully tried suppressing a chuckle. Nuparu groaned and pushed himself to his feet.

“What was—,” he began, but a look of realization flashed across his face. Nuparu looked down at himself, then slowly he began levitating into the air. Then he blasted out of the cave, and shot into the sky, whooping excitedly. Jaller saw Kongu’s jaw drop. Nuparu was flying in circles like a crazed bird, laughing the whole time. But soon, he swooped close to the ground, his limbs flailing.

“Uh, guys? _How do I land?!_ ” Nuparu cried out, swooping upwards again. Kongu leapt to his feet and, as if by instinct, conjured up a powerful blast of wind that blasted him into the sky after Nuparu. The wind left crackling electricity in its wake. Jaller saw Kongu lead Nuparu back down to the ground, cushioning them both with air.

Nuparu stumbled a little on his feet, and let out a gasp of relief. “Thanks,” he said to Kongu. Kongu smirked, and slapped him lightly on the back, but then his smile disappeared, and he gave Nuparu a light shove.

“What do you mean, I 'look even funnier now'?” Kongu demanded, hands on his hips. Confusion crossed Nuparu’s face.

“I…didn’t say that…” Nuparu said hesitantly.

“You—,” Kongu stopped himself, then squinted at Nuparu again. “Oh!”

“What, did you just…read my mind?” Nuparu asked.

“I think I did,” Kongu said in awe, a grin slowly spreading across his face.

“Hey, Kongu,” Jaller said, “What am I thinking right now?”  
Kongu peered at him for a second, and his eyes brightened, “You’re remembering a time you and the Ta-Koro guard tried to drive away a muaka from the Ta-Koro borders…”

“Yeah,” Jaller confirmed. Nuparu leapt off the ground, and began drifting upwards again.

“I dunno, I still think my kanohi’s cooler!” he said, soaring over them all. Jaller saw Kongu roll his eyes. He noticed Matoro collapse out of the corner of his eye. He rushed to his friend’s side.

“Matoro?” he cried. He knelt next to him, putting an ear to Matoro’s mouth. No breath. He placed an ear on Matoro’s chest. Nothing there either. Panicking, Jaller shook Matoro’s shoulders. “Guys?” he said, panic rising, “Matoro’s not breathing!”

The others rushed to his side as well.

“What happened?” Kongu said.

“He just collapsed!” Jaller responded.

“What about a pulse?” Hewkii asked, eyes wide. Jaller looked up, and saw Hahli standing a few meters away, talking to the air.

“…I don’t know, either,” she was saying to nobody, “Don’t worry, we can figure this out.”

“What is she doing?” Jaller asked aloud. Kongu gazed at her for a minute.

“She’s talking to…Matoro…” he said slowly. Jaller glanced down at Matoro’s lifeless form on the ground, then back up at Hahli.

“Wait, what?” Hewkii scratched his head.

“Hahli!” Jaller called to her, “Over here! Something happened to Matoro!”

Hahli met his eyes. “What are you talking about, he’s right he—,” she stopped, seeing Matoro on the ground. She looked back behind her. She glanced back again, and a look of realization crossed her face. “Oh!” she glanced back behind her, “Matoro, your body’s over here!” she pointed.

Suddenly, Matoro woke up on the ground, and took in a long gasping breath. He panted hard for a few seconds, clutching his chest.

“You okay?” Hewkii asked, and Matoro looked up at him and the others.

“That was…” Matoro gasped, “Really weird.”

“How could you see him, Hahli?” Jaller asked. Hahli shrugged.

“Okay, anyone else want to pull a fancy trick?” Kongu asked amusedly.

* * *

Garan accepted the fact he was seconds from death. The heat filled his lungs and surrounded his body, slowly suffocating it. Soon his grip will slacken, he’ll fall, and he’ll be incinerated. Then the Piraka will bring in his friends one by one, and they’ll all meet the same fate.

He closed his eyes, saying one last prayer to Mata Nui for things to get better for everyone after he’s gone. But he was jostled out of his thoughts when something grabbed his arm. His eyes fluttered open, and he saw Piruk and Kazi, both grasping his arm, working together to hoist him up out of the fiery pit. They pulled with all their might, and soon Garan was back on solid ground. He sat for a second, panting hard, but Dalu grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet.

“No time to rest, we’re outta here!” she said, promptly blasting a dumbfounded Vezok with her tools, and the Voya Nui Resistance team raced out of the hole in the stone wall that one of them no doubt had blasted through to get to Garan. Garan and his team didn’t stop running until they hit open air. The sun was just beginning to rise. Garan wanted to ask his friends so many questions, but he decided putting as much distance between themselves and the Piraka was the priority.

* * *

Brutaka stood before the vat, feeling the energy from the bubbling liquid inside it. It seemed to swell his muscles, fill him with its power. It seemed that cunning Piraka leader had kept his end of the bargain after all. He reached a hand out to it.

“Is this all you want?” the familiar voice behind him was scolding, irritating. With a flash of anger, Brutaka whirled to face Axonn, peering into his eyes.

“Is strength all that matters to you? And for what? What exactly are you fighting for?” Axonn said, peering back at him like he was trying to read his mind. Brutaka gave him a defiant smirk.

“The less you talk, the better it is for the both of us,” he said, turning his back on his former friend to face the vat.

“You’ve forgotten our sworn duty. You took an oath!”

“The Order is gone, Axonn. Disbanded. It’s over. There’s nothing left for us here.”

“There will be nothing left at all, if those Piraka get the Ignika!”

Brutaka whirled to face Axonn. Rage began to bubble up inside him.

“Sure, the Ignika,” he spat, “The end-all be-all to complete the universe,” Brutaka laughed bitterly. Axonn was glaring at him, but he didn’t care. “Have you ever actually seen it? Can you be sure it even exists?”

Axonn hoisted his battleaxe off his shoulder, weighing it in both his hands.

“We’ve been fed lies from the beginning,” Brutaka continued, unsheathing his double-bladed sword, “It’s time you accepted that.”

“I’ve feared this day for a long time,” Axonn said, beginning to circle him.

Brutaka felt another smirk crack on his face, “I haven’t.”

The two circled each other, eyes locked. Brutaka lunged first, and his sword and Axonn’s battleaxe collided with a sharp metallic clang that rang through the chamber and showered sparks on the both of them. Brutaka felt Axonn push hard against his weapon. He slackened a bit, then pushed back, causing Axonn to stumble backwards a bit. Taking the opportunity, he swung his sword, slicing through his armor. In spite of the blood dripping from the gash in his side, Axonn swung back, and their weapons collided again.

Their struggle lasted a while. With each blow, sparks flew about. Both warriors managed to land a few hits on the other, and soon both were bleeding from several wounds. The ragged breathing of the two titans filled the room as they circled again, waiting for the other to make the next move. A plan formed in Brutaka’s mind.

He took a step backwards, closer to the vat of boiling liquid. He made a move, readying his sword for another blow. But as Axonn moved to counter his attack, Brutaka spun out of the way, and Axonn’s weapon buried itself in the side of the vat. It opened a gash in the metal, and the sickly green liquid began spilling out. Alarm sparked in Axonn’s green eyes as he pulled his axe out of the vat and jumped backwards. Brutaka cracked a smile, and stepped under the flow of liquid, letting it wash over him.

Its energy swelled within him, and he readjusted his grip on his sword. he could feel his wounds closing up. He strode towards Axonn, and he delighted in seeing a small flash of fear in his former friend’s face. But Axonn swung his axe again, and Brutaka blocked it with ease. With all the effort of pushing a small door open, Brutaka shoved Axonn backwards. He advanced on him, landing a few more blows that made Axonn lose his balance and stumble backwards onto the floor. Brutaka swung his sword down at his head, and Axonn blocked it, all his muscles straining and trembling.

Brutaka pressed down harder, and knelt down over Axonn, leaning close to his face.

“Looks like you’ve got two options: keep fighting until you bleed out, or surrender and still bleed out. Which will the Great Axonn choose?”

Axonn snarled, and promptly spat in Brutaka’s face. Caught by surprise, Brutaka jerked backwards, and his opponent took the opportunity to strike him with his battleaxe. Brutaka felt the blade cleave through his armor, scrape past his ribs, and hit tissue. He gritted his teeth against the pain, and with all his strength he swung his double-bladed sword in a circle and sliced into Axonn’s great chest. Blood splattered everywhere, and his opponent fell to his knees.

Brutaka placed his sword’s blade at Axonn’s neck. Even though he was bleeding profusely, the titan still stared up at Brutaka with defiance and anger.

“The Great Spirit has left us. The sooner you accept that, the easier it will be for you,” Brutaka sneered. Axonn stared him down, unyielding. Brutaka frowned down at him, “Give me one good reason to not send your head flying right now.” He pressed the blade into Axxon’s neck.

“I was hoping to reach you, Brutaka,” Axonn said, his voice grave, “Hoping that there was some remnant of the hero you once were. I can see now that it’s long dead.”

Brutaka stared at him, unmoved. Axonn jerked his head towards the vat that was still gushing liquid.

“If that’s all you value, then there’s no hope for you anymore,” Axonn stood slowly. Brutaka held his sword at his former friend’s throat the whole time, wondering why he wasn’t delivering the final blow yet.

“I wish you the best of luck,” Axonn said darkly, “Enjoy the rest of your lone existence.”

In a movement almost too quick to register, Axonn threw his axe past him, and it crashed into the vat, opening the hole wider and dousing them both in the liquid.

Brutaka’s opponent was lost from view in the greenish deluge. Brutaka stood there, letting the liquid wash over him until the vat completely emptied. He stood in a green puddle as the walls and ceiling dripped with the stuff, the last wound Axonn gave him closing up. He felt himself glowing with energy, but he remained still. He stared down at the green pools on the floor, which were blotched red with Axonn’s blood.

Axonn was gone. Brutaka was the only one left standing. Yet, it didn’t feel like a victory. Brutaka dropped his sword, listening to it clatter noisily on the rocky floor. He felt his lips curl into a snarl. _Next time_ , he thought, _I_ will _finish him off._

* * *

Jaller peered over a large rock formation, observing the volcano in the distance. Squinting, he could see hundreds of matoran hard at work, digging trenches, collecting lava, and depositing it near the shoreline. They all moved mechanically, and not once did he see any of them speak to one another. _They’re just like the matoran in Karzhani’s realm_ , he thought worriedly.

“What’re they doing?” Nuparu wondered aloud, appearing suddenly next to him.

“Beats me,” Jaller said. He watched the distant matoran work, when his eye caught one of the Po-matoran on the slopes of the volcano slipping on a rock and falling straight into a lava flow. The worst part, he hadn’t even screamed. Jaller turned around, hand over his mouth. His gaze met Hahli’s whose horrified expression mirrored his own.

“Something is very wrong here,” Matoro commented, trembling slightly.

“You don’t say,” Kongu said grimly.

“Guys, there’s someone over here,” Hewkii said in a near whisper, pointing over another rock formation. The new Toa gathered behind him and peered over it. Jaller could see a stranger with long blue hair stalking about. He was large, taller than a Toa, unarmored, wearing strange clothes, and had spikes growing from his back. Suddenly, the stranger made a quick move for his large weapon, and fired a green orb straight at the group. Everyone ducked, but Matoro got hit in the chest.

The orb passed through his chest, and Jaller and the others stood, stunned, and waited to see what would happen. But Matoro remained standing, and looked back at the stranger that shot him. Jaller followed Matoro’s gaze to stare at the blue-haired stranger as well.

“Well, it was worth a try,” the stranger smirked. Jaller and his companions unsheathed their weapons, and climbed over the rocks to face this new opponent. The stranger stood his ground, his cold blue eyes darting between each of the new Toa, assessing his situation.

“Who are you, and what are you doing on this island?” Jaller called to him.

“I could ask you the same thing,” the stranger snarled, and gave a long sniff, “But I think I can guess. You guys have the stink of novice Toa.”

“Who and what are you?” Hahli demanded, pointing her new harpoon weapon in the stranger’s direction.

“Name’s Vezok. I’m a Piraka.”

Jaller exchanged looks with his companions. Why would someone willingly call themselves something so loathsome in the matoran language? Matoro stepped forward, and activated his weapon, shooting a stream of electrified ice in Vezok’s direction. Caught off guard, the Piraka was struck, his feet frozen to the ground while the rest of his muscles convulsed violently from the electric shock. Jaller glanced at Matoro, who was panting slightly, his eyes wide.

“That was bold,” Vezok snarled, breaking his feet out of the ice, “Okay, my turn.” He promptly shot his own bolt of electrified ice at Jaller.

He shouldn’t have been able to, but Jaller found himself reacting instantly, jumping and twisting out of the way of the blast. Vezok shot at him over and over, but as if his actions were being controlled by a powerful force outside himself, Jaller managed to expertly dodge every bolt. He replanted his feet, and faced Vezok, conjuring up his flame power.

He blasted Vezok with electrified flames, blowing his opponent backwards. Vezok lay on the rocky ground for merely a second before leaping back up onto his feet and shooting out electrified flames at Jaller and all his companions. Jaller dodged and rolled, then leapt in front of Matoro to protect him from the onslaught of flames by absorbing their heat. Matoro nodded to him in gratitude.

“Okay, he can duplicate whatever we throw at him,” Matoro quickly spoke to him under his breath, “I’m guessing he can only handle one at a time, so—”

Suddenly, Vezok raised both his hands and from one shot electrified flames while the other shot another electrified bolt of ice. Jaller and Matoro separated, both diving out of the way.

“Okay, I was wrong!” Matoro shouted to Jaller. Jaller opened his mouth to warn his friend of an oncoming fire blast, but it hit, and Matoro struck down, stunned and slightly burned. Off to his other side, he saw Hahli get partially flash-frozen. He gritted his teeth, and glared at the Piraka, who had suddenly stopped attacking, and backed up a few paces against a rocky cliff, his cold gaze switching between the four Toa left standing.

“You newbies should get off this island while you still can,” Vezok shouted to them, “We beat a whole team of veteran Toa not a few days ago without breaking a sweat!”

A realization crossed Jaller’s mind. Was he talking about the Toa Nuva? Before he could confront the Piraka about it, he saw Hewkii crouch and aim his weapon at the rocky outcropping above Vezok’s head. Before the Piraka could react, it fired a beam of orange energy that struck the rocks above him. They broke up and collapsed on top of him, leaving him pinned and stunning him with a burst of electricity.

With Vezok trapped under the rubble, Jaller strode towards him, and when he reached his side, he held his weapon to the Piraka’s exposed neck.

“Where are these veteran Toa?” He demanded. Vezok’s mouth was shut tight. Jaller turned to Kongu, who also approached their pinned opponent. “Kongu, can you read his mind and find where they are?” Kongu nodded, and fixed his gaze on Vezok. Only a second passed before he recoiled in disgust.

“His mind-thoughts are completely vile,” Kongu grimaced.

“You don’t know the half of it, you little bastard,” Vezok spat. Jaller pressed his weapon into his neck, causing him to snap his mouth shut again.

“I’d watch myself if I were you,” Jaller sneered, “See, poor novice that I am, I don’t have complete control over my Toa powers yet. One slip,” he pressed his weapon harder against Vezok’s neck, and a small drop of blood slid from the tip of his blade down to the ground, “and I might just burn your head off.”

Vezok met his gaze. “Alright, alright,” he snarled, “Let me up and I’ll lead you to your Toa friends.”

Jaller nodded to Hewkii, who levitated the stones off Vezok, who sprang to his feet. He raised his hands in submission.

“Remember,” Jaller said, raising his weapon, “make one wrong move and—”

“—Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Vezok spat. He spun on his heel and began walking away. The Toa cautiously began to follow. Kongu sprang forward, shouting “wait!” but suddenly Vezok had fired twin blasts of fire and ice together between his hands, disappearing in an explosion of steam. Kongu waved his arm, and a blast of electrified wind blew the steam away. But the Piraka was gone.

“Dammit, that was really stupid of me,” Jaller muttered. He felt Hahli’s hand on his shoulder, comforted by the realization that she’d managed to free herself from Vezok’s ice blast. Matoro had rejoined the group as well.

“Should we go after him?” Matoro asked. Jaller shook his head.

“He knows the island, and we don’t. But, he could still lead us to the Toa Nuva…”

“If you follow him, he’ll just pick you off one by one,” an unfamiliar voice made all the Toa spin about until their collective gaze fell upon an Onu-matoran, stepping out from behind some large boulders. Behind him was a group of five other matoran. All of them wielded small and unfamiliar-looking weapons. The Onu-Matoran stepped forward, holding out a hand to Jaller.

“We’re the Voya Nui Resistance Team. My name is Garan. My friends and I can help you out, if you help us as well.”

Jaller smiled and nodded, taking the Onu-matoran’s hand. He glanced back at his Toa companions. They all nodded their agreement. he turned back to Garan and said, “Lead the way.”

They walked alongside their new allies. These matoran were ragged, dirty, a bit on the skinny side. But Jaller could also see the strength in their convictions as they collectively described the plight of Voya Nui, the arrival of the Piraka, the enslavement of the matoran, and the defeat of the Toa Nuva.

“But the Toa Nuva are alive, right?” Hahli asked, with a hint of worry in her voice.

Garan sighed, “We don’t know.”

“If they are alive, they’ll be in the Piraka fortress a few miles from here,” the Ta-Matoran named Balta added.

“We can lead you there. But we have a favor to ask of you,” Garan said.

* * *

“Where exactly are we going?” Hewkii asked, grunting as he hoisted himself onto a rocky ledge. His fellow Toa and their new matoran companions had split off into groups. Hahli, Jaller, Dalu, and Piruk stayed near the volcano to liberate the enslaved matoran, and Nuparu, Kongu, Garan, and Velika headed towards the Piraka stronghold to find the Toa Nuva. He and Matoro and Kazi and Balta were climbing up some rocky cliffs towards a destination only Kazi seemed to know.

Matoro stopped for a brief second, panting and brushing the dust off his hands. Kazi continued the trek without looking back.

“There’s someone on this island,” Kazi responded, “He’s been protecting us for thousands of years. Hell of a warrior. May be stronger than a Toa.”

“Who is he?” Hewkii asked, “And why didn’t he stop the Piraka from taking over the island?”

The Ta-matoran Balta halted for a second, and fixed his orange eyes on the Toa of Stone. “Sometimes you can’t do what your heart tells you…sometimes you have a duty to something greater than yourself.”

Hewkii was at a loss for words. When he looked into Balta’s eyes, the small blonde matoran almost looked like the spitting image of Toa Tahu. He briefly wondered who exactly determined which matoran would become Toa in their lifetimes, and which didn’t. If it were up to him, certainly Balta would be an excellent choice.

“This is it!” Kazi called back to them. He climbed over a couple of boulders, and vanished from view for a second. The other three followed, and Hewkii felt himself reflexively grip his Toa tool harder. For a second he worried if it was a trap, and these matoran betrayed them. But when they got over the boulders, they came face to face with a large cave opening, with Kazi standing before it.

The Ko-matoran turned to look at them. He pointed into the darkness of the cave.

“He should be in there.”

Hewkii, Matoro, and Balta crept up towards the cave entrance, and before Hewkii could form a question, an immense figure stumbled out into the open. His steps were as labored as his breathing. There was a large gash in his chest, through his thick armor. He had one hand clenched over the wound, and blood seeped through his fingers. His legs gave out, and he fell to one knee, catching himself with his one free hand. As Hewkii and Matoro rushed up to assist him, Hewkii noticed that the stranger had the biggest battleaxe he’s ever seen strapped to his back.

As Hewkii and Matoro supported the armored giant under each arm, they both noticed that the gaping wound in the stranger’s chest slowly began to close on its own. The blood stopped flowing, and the wound scarred over. Surprisingly enough, the gash in the stranger’s armor closed up as well. The giant gently shrugged Hewkii and Matoro off him, and peered down at the two matoran, who were gazing up at him in awe.

“Axonn,” Balta and Kazi said it at the same time, and they looked at each other, surprised. “How did you—,” they again said in unison.

“He saved me a long time ago,” Kazi said.

“He got me out of the cave Vezok trapped me in,” Balta said, looking up at the giant with admiration. “But,” he added, “How did I know your name?”

“Who did this to you?” Kazi asked before Axonn could answer Balta’s question.

“Brutaka,” Axonn said simply, “A former ally. He’s forgotten his duty to Mata Nui, to the Ignika. I must…stop…him…before…” the giant’s eyes seemed to dim, and his body collapsed. Hewkii and Matoro caught him before his limp form crashed to the ground.

“Are you okay?” Matoro asked. The titan let out a long, tired breath.

“My old friend,” Axonn grunted, “…he came close to killing me. It’ll be a while before I fully recover.” Hewkii and Matoro helped him settle onto a large boulder, where he sat, resting against a rock wall.

“Brutaka. He’s the one who beat your Toa Nuva friends,” Kazi said, “He may have killed them, we don’t know.”

Matoro’s eyes sparkled with worry, but Hewkii straightened his posture, and hoisted his Toa tool in his hands.

“Sounds like a nasty fella,” Hewkii said, feeling himself crack a smile, “Let’s go teach him a lesson.”

“I’d advise against that,” Axonn warned, “He cut down all those veteran Toa with one swing of his sword.”

“How are we supposed to beat someone like that?” Matoro said, his bright blue eyes wide.

“If you’re lucky, you won’t need to. You should go, now,” Axonn urged, “The Piraka have found the Ignika’s location.”

“What about you?” Balta asked.

“Don’t worry about me. Just go,” Axonn said, his stony face unchanged.

The four companions left, their pace quickening by the second.

* * *

Hahli crouched behind some boulders, overlooking the slopes of the volcano. Jaller was beside her, along with the matoran Dalu and Piruk. She and Jaller both held strange launcher weapons given to them by the Resistance Team.

“You sure these will work?” Jaller whispered. They were all on the lookout for more Piraka.

“They have to,” Dalu said simply.

“The ammunition was modified by Velika to reverse the effects of the Piraka’s virus,” Piruk explained.

“How?” Hahli asked, curious.

“We don’t have all day to give a science lesson, sister,” Dalu snapped, “Just start shooting.”

“Excuse me,” Hahli shot back.

“Don’t mind her,” Piruk laughed nervously, “Come on, Dalu. Once our brothers and sisters are free, we’ll need to move them out of the area.”

Dalu grunted in response, and Hahli saw her grip her weapons tighter.

As the two matoran made their way towards the volcano, Jaller and Hahli took aim together, their arms touching. They glanced at each other, and exchanged a smile. Then they fired at the same time, each hitting an enslaved matoran dead on. Once the silvery orbs passed through their bodies, the light returned to their eyes, and they blinked in confusion.

After Jaller and Hahli freed an entire cluster, Dalu and Piruk rushed forward, and rounded up their fellow villagers, no doubt quickly explaining their situation, and led them down the slopes of the volcano.

Shot after shot was fired, until the last matoran was struck and freed. Hahli lowered the weapon, and breathed a sigh of relief. She scanned the area again for Piraka, and thankfully no one showed up.

“Let’s meet up with the others,” Jaller said.

“Yeah, hopefully we can find the Toa Nuva as well,” Hahli said, feeling slightly foolish at the thought. Jaller was silent for a moment. “Well, that is, if…”

Jaller smiled at her, “Don’t worry, we’ll find them.”

Dalu reappeared, startling them both, “If you’re both done chattering the night away, we can head towards the fortress.”

“What’s your problem?” Hahli demanded, hands on her hips.

“Look, I’m sure where you come from, Ga-Matoran are all soft-spoken and polite. But this is Voya Nui. No time for manners when any day can be your last.” Dalu turned on her heel and started walking away, towards where Piruk was waiting for them all, scraping his claw tools together nervously.

Hahli sighed angrily. She felt Jaller’s hand on her shoulder, and she cheered up immediately. After quickly grasping his hand in hers, she and Jaller began to trudge after their matoran companions.

* * *

Nuparu soared close to the ceiling as the large robotic guard fired more lasers in his direction. Down below, Kongu, Velika, and Garan ducked behind a pile of scrap metal for cover. When they had entered the Piraka fortress, they weren’t prepared to meet a colossal machine that could sense movement coming through the front door.

“I thought your friend Piruk got in this place without problem before!” Nuparu heard Kongu shout over the clanking of machinery and the firing of laser beams.

“This machine is a new addition,” Garan responded calmly, “The Piraka probably put it here after we and the Toa Nuva broke in to challenge them down in the chambers.”

Nuparu focused his attention back on the rampaging robot, and swung around to fly towards it again. He fired blasts of shockwave energy from his weapon at the machine, but its armor wouldn’t give. He saw Kongu stand up from behind cover to shoot at the robot with his crossbow, which proved ineffective as well.

Nuparu landed next to him, and they both dove under cover again, as lasers fried the wall behind them.

“Any ideas?” Kongu sighed. The sleepy-eyed Po-Matoran spoke up.

“The bird soars through the sky, but if I were a colossus, and the sky was beneath my feet, could it truly be said the bird flew underground?”

“What—?” Kongu said, but Garan raised a hand up to silence them.

“Underground,” he said. The Onu-matoran and Toa of Earth met each other’s gaze.

Nuparu cracked a smile, and leapt into flight again. He soared over the robot, dodging each laser blast. He twisted in the air and changed directions as sharply as he could, diving straight down towards the rocky earthen floor. Seconds from hitting it, he charged his weapon and raised it above his head.

Nuparu burrowed into the earth as swiftly as a Toa of Water would dive into the ocean. As he tunneled at exhilarating speed, he sensed the mechanical movements of the robot above. Once he was sure he was directly below it, he tunneled upwards, and jammed his weapon upwards, shattering the delicate machinery on the bottom of the robot, and shutting it down almost immediately. He flew out of the hole in the floor he had created, and landed next to his companions. Sparks were shooting everywhere, and it made him grin.

“Good call,” he said to Velika, who gave a wise smile that he expected more from a proud Turaga.

“I’ll admit,” Kongu said, punching Nuparu on the arm, “You’re getting better at the flying thing.”

“Uh oh, Kongu just gave me a compliment. What do I do now?” Nuparu joked, and as much as he knew Kongu didn’t want to, the Toa of Air cracked an amused grin.

“We need to keep moving,” Garan said, heading down the main hallway. Velika and the two Toa quickly headed after him.

They hadn’t gone more than a hundred feet before the air around them grew unnaturally cold. Nuparu shivered. The hallway was lined with rows of metal doors, and Nuparu didn’t realize he had wandered away from the group. Nuparu entered one door, which had rows of lightstones along the walls, which illuminated a collage of carvings. He quickly scanned the numerous maps and diagrams, and his eye caught a rough scratching in the center of it all. It said:

“Vezon?” Nuparu said aloud, “Huh.” He wasn’t sure what it meant, but he filed it away in his mind for later, just in case. He exited the room, and headed towards the next door. Before he could open it, Kongu tapped him on the shoulder.

“Garan and Velika are going this way,” the Toa of Air said, pointing behind him. Nuparu trotted alongside his Toa companion and the two caught up with the matoran, who led them to one particular door, which swung open with a soft creak.

The chamber’s walls were lined with weapons, shields, and tools of all kinds, as well as Toa armor of different sizes and styles. There were artifacts of unknown worth piled up in the corners. Nuparu scanned the walls, his eyes finally falling upon the familiar drill weapons of Toa Onua. The other Toa Nuva weapons were there too, all fixed to the wall with rusted nails. Beneath them, the Toa Nuva armor was piled on the floor, like it was worthless junk.

Kongu appeared next to him.

“So, do we take it all with us?” Nuparu asked him.

“Probably not a good idea. If we run into another fight, we’ll need a free hand,” Kongu stated. Nuparu nodded in agreement, even though the sight of the Toa Nuva’s armor and weapons separated from their owners and thrown in a hasty pile felt like a crime against all that was good.

“Let’s keep going,” Garan said, bringing the two Toa to attention, “The Toa Nuva must be imprisoned deeper in the fortress.”

The four made their way through winding hallways, checking every door they could find, until they came upon a large chamber. In its center was a large vat, full of holes, dripping a sickly green liquid. The stuff formed puddles on the rocky floor.

“Don’t touch any of it,” Garan warned, stepping around the puddles, “Who knows what it’ll do to you.” The four made their way carefully across the chamber to the other side, where they found another door.

“We just can’t get rid of you, can we?” a cold voice said, freezing them all in their tracks. Nuparu turned slowly to see another Piraka, one with green hair and a three-bladed weapon, staring them down from the other side of the chamber. They hadn’t even heard him come in. The four companions gripped their weapons, bracing themselves for an assault.

“Zaktan,” Garan growled under his breath.

“And you found new Toa for us to kill,” Zaktan hissed, his face splitting into a nasty grin. Five more Piraka emerged from the shadows, all sporting the same pointy-toothed smile, including the blue-haired one, Vezok, that Nuparu and his Toa companions encountered before. Another figure emerged on the other side of Zaktan, standing a foot or so higher than the Piraka, wearing heavy armor, and carrying a double-bladed sword on his back.

“Let’s see…how to end your miserable lives,” Zaktan mused, his body shimmering like it wasn’t cohesive, “We’ve killed so many, and it’d be a shame to repeat ourselves.”

Just then, a wall behind them blasted open, and all the grinning Piraka were knocked off their feet by a combined blast of fire and ice. Nuparu felt his soul lighten when he saw his fellow Toa and their matoran companions emerge from the opening.

“You can either leave this island,” Jaller declared, “Or you can face us, and be reduced to almost nothing.”

“You’re really overestimating yourselves, aren’t you?” The grinning red-haired Piraka declared.

As the Voya Nui Resistance Team slipped out to search for the Toa Nuva, all-out chaos erupted in the chamber, as energy blasts from both Toa and Piraka were shot in every direction. Hewkii got to work right away throwing up stone barriers around Brutaka to isolate him from the Piraka. With each stone wall, Brutaka smashed it down with ease.

“Bring it on, buddy! I can do this all day!” Hewkii declared, replacing each stone barrier as quickly as Brutaka broke them.

“So can I,” Brutaka sneered, and with a sweep of his large double-bladed sword, sliced down all the stone around him. The added electricity didn’t seem to faze the giant. Hewkii focused his energy, throwing up thicker and thicker stone walls, drawing them closer and closer around Brutaka, until the giant had little room to maneuver. Within minutes, Brutaka couldn’t lift his arms anymore. Hewkii drew the stones even closer together, squeezing the giant between them. Soon he was completely encased.

Through his connection to stone, Hewkii could tell Brutaka was wriggling about in there. The makeshift prison wouldn’t hold him long, but perhaps long enough. He shifted focus to the fight with the Piraka, and batted away a large boulder thrown by Reidak before it collided with Hahli, who was blasting Thok with electrified water. Thok pulled out a large gun, and pulled its trigger, firing a blue stream which then froze over Hahli’s water stream. Hahli luckily had braced herself, and swung her weapon, shattering the ice before it could reach her.

Meanwhile, Kongu was up against Avak. As the Toa of Air charged in the brown-haired Piraka’s direction, Avak threw up his arms, and encased Kongu in a large sphere. Kongu sensed the lack of air, and held his breath.

He stared Avak straight in the face. Kongu felt a powerful surge of anger at the Piraka’s smug grin. Using his kanohi, he sent him the vivid image and piercing sounds of a thousand gukko birds screeching straight into his mind. Avak let out a shout and stumbled backwards, and Kongu’s airless prison dissolved. Gulping in a lungful of air, Kongu shot forward towards his opponent with a blast of elemental energy. He grabbed Avak by the throat and slammed him against the wall.

Kongu called upon the air and began compacting it around Avak. The pressure—combined with the jolt of electricity that came with Kongu’s power—became so much that Avak could no longer make a sound. When the Piraka’s eyes seemed to fade, Kongu released him, and let his unconscious body drop to the floor.

Matoro and Jaller had teamed up and fought off both Hakann and Reidak, each slinging their electrified elemental energies at the brutes while dodging Hakann’s eye lasers and boulders tossed by Reidak. Hahli managed to knock Thok backwards into a wall, and as he rose Kongu ran up to help her continue the fight.

Nuparu stood before Zaktan amid the chaos, and after flinging a few slabs of earth at the unmoved Piraka leader, Nuparu formed a plan in his mind, and it made him crack a smile.

“You don’t have much to grin about, Toa,” Zaktan hissed, “As you’ll soon find out.”

Nuparu wasted no time in blasting off and flying wildly up to the ceiling of the chamber, back down, and circling back around the Piraka leader.

“Go ahead, try and hit me!” he whooped with glee. He caught a glimpse of Zaktan’s scowl, and it only made his grin get wider. Zaktan dissolved both his arms, and sent the thousands of particles buzzing after the wild Toa of Earth. Nuparu increased his speed, wind screaming in his face. He spun sharply, and shot forward once again, straight towards Zaktan.

“You’re—you’re insane!” Zaktan’s eyes widened.

“I have been for years, ask anyone!” Nuparu declared, and sure enough right before he collided with Zaktan, the Piraka dissolved, but his particles were immediately caught in the wake of Nuparu’s flight. Nuparu shot up towards the ceiling, and burrowed up through it, through the upper floors of the Piraka fortress, and broke out into the sky above, and wasted no time heading straight for the ocean below.

“Hope you can swim!” Nuparu shouted.

* * *

It may have been minutes, or hours, but the Piraka and Toa Inika continued to fight, with neither side gaining the advantage. Jaller stole a look towards the stone coffin Hewkii had trapped Brutaka in, and sure enough, cracks were beginning to form on the surface. He pulled off another impossible dodge from one of Hakann’s lava spheres, and held up his weapon towards his opponent.

“Man, you are hard to hit,” Hakann teased, his maniacal grin never leaving his face. Jaller took aim with his weapon, never breaking eye contact as the two circled each other.

“Drop your weapon and this can all be over,” Jaller said steadily.

“You could kill me, and it could be over. That’d be much easier,” Hakann taunted.

“Toa don’t kill,” Jaller said.

“Since when? They not only kill, but injure, and mutilate, and force their enemies into submission. Admit it, you’re not much better than us,” Hakann smirked, and Jaller felt the heat within him rise to the surface. He felt like he was glowing, and he felt electricity crackling around his fingertips.

“See? See that?” Hakann pointed at him, “You want nothing more than to wipe the grin off my face. So why not do it?”

“I’m not like you. We Toa fight to protect the matoran and the universe itself. What about you? What do you fight for?”

Hakann leapt backwards onto a ledge above Jaller, who kept his weapon pointing at the Piraka the whole time.

“I certainly don’t do it for the hero worship,” Hakann sneered, “That’s what all you Toa are like, parading around like you’re hot shit, and the matoran build monuments and statues to your honor, and the Chroniclers write epic tales about your victories. Don’t tell me that’s not a huge perk of the job.”

Jaller kept his mouth shut, and his face stony. But underneath he felt a twinge of guilt.

“That’s the difference between you and me,” Hakann leapt back down, strolling casually towards Jaller, who began slowly stepping backwards, keeping his weapon pointing at his foe’s chest. “I don’t give a shit what the matoran think, or anyone. I’m always free, and you’re always gonna be fighting other people’s battles.”

Jaller hated him, mostly because Hakann made a very good point. When the Toa arrived on Mata Nui, he and his fellow matoran revered them as invincible warriors, capable of protecting them from anything. They built statues to them and Takua wrote down their exploits against Makuta and his minions. Perhaps it became too much, to the point where the Toa Nuva also had figured themselves as invincible. Maybe that’s why they came here, only to be utterly defeated, possibly killed.

Was that really what being a Toa was about? Was it really true that perhaps Jaller and his companions were looking forward to the reception they’d receive when they returned to Metru Nui? Were they actually being selfish and arrogant?

_No_ , Jaller told himself, _no, it’s more than that. We’re protecting the ones we care about. We’re the only ones who can do what has to be done here._ He charged up his flames, focusing them through his weapon.

“You know what, Piraka?” He said, “I’m going to shut your big mouth right here and now.”

As he advanced on his foe, he saw Hakann’s eyes dart to his left. Brutaka’s cocoon promptly broke apart, and a large pair of hands busted their way out of it, followed by the titan’s head and shoulders. Jaller blasted fire at Hakann to bring his attention back to their fight, but Hakann backflipped, dodging it easily, and quickly loaded a gold-colored sphere into a launcher weapon Jaller and Hahli had used to free the Voya Nui matoran. Brutaka was slowly rising to his feet, up to his full height.

“Well, fireboy, it’s been real,” Hakann snickered, and took aim at Brutaka. Jaller all at once wondered what he was doing, and decided that he had to stop him. He rushed forward, only to be knocked down by Thok instantly.

Hakann fired the shot, and Brutaka was struck. Bolts of energy seemed to be pulled out of him, and his legs buckled. The bolts flew towards Hakann, and struck both him and Thok, who had arrived by his side just in time.

“You think you deserve all that power for yourself?” Thok scoffed at Hakann, who gave him a dirty look.

Jaller scrambled for his weapon, and blasted them both with electrified fire, but the two Piraka remained unscorched. They both turned to look at him, and both of their faces split into wide grins.

“Jaller, what just happened?” he heard Hahli’s voice behind him, as well as the footsteps of his other teammates, aside from Nuparu, who hadn’t returned after flying up through the ceiling earlier.

“They just…” but Jaller was unable to finish the sentence before Hakann’s red eyes flashed brightly, and he felt like he blacked out for a second. He spun about, completely disoriented. He tripped sideways, and collided with Matoro, who seemed equally unbalanced. Just as Jaller was about to recover, he saw Hakann and Thok standing up on a high ledge, looking down at them all.

“Traitors!” He heard Avak shriek. Jaller turned and Avak, Reidak, and Vezok all staring up at the other two Piraka in equal parts disbelief and rage.

“The Ignika was for all of us, you dumb assholes!” Vezok shouted up at them.

“Psh, nah. Thok and I don’t need you idiots anymore,” Hakann grinned, and began climbing up the wall towards the opening in the ceiling Nuparu had created.

“I’m gonna crush your skulls next time I—,” Reidak said.

“—Shut up,” Thok said, and with a snap of his fingers, the stone walls came to life, and bent and wrapped themselves around the Toa and Piraka alike. Jaller felt the stone squeezing him tight.

“No problem, I can get us—,” Hewkii started, but with another flash of Hakann’s eyes, Jaller felt another powerful dizzy spell overtake him, and his vision darkened. He no longer knew which way was up, and he fell into unconsciousness.


	10. An Uneasy Alliance

Nuparu made his way back into the fortress, with the earthen cocoon that contained Zaktan slung over his shoulder. He had made sure that the cocoon had a few airholes in it. He arrived in the underground chamber, only to find his friends—as well as their enemies—wrapped up in earth and stone, all slumped over. Dropping Zaktan like a sack of broken machinery parts, Nuparu sprinted up to Jaller. He felt for a pulse, and held an ear to his mouth. Good, he was alive. He focused his earth energy, and released his Toa companions. All dropped to the floor. Soon they all stirred and slowly got themselves back up to their feet.

“Okay, that hurt,” Kongu commented, rubbing his temples.

“What happened?” Nuparu asked.

“Hakann and Thok happened,” Jaller grumbled, dusting himself off.

“It looks like they stole the energy from that large brute,” Hahli said, pointing at the unconscious form of Brutaka in the corner of the chamber.

“Great, then let’s go after them! Six Toa against two Piraka, I like our chances!” Hewkii said, hoisting his weapon onto his shoulder. Matoro caught his arm.

“Hold on, remember what Axonn told us? Brutaka’s the one who may have killed the Toa Nuva—with _one_ sword stroke!” Matoro said, his eyes wide, “We can’t fight those two when they possess _that_ kind of power!”

“We have to do _something_ ,” Kongu said.

“We’re going after the Ignika,” Jaller declared, bringing all to his attention, “We need to get to it before Hakann and Thok.”

“But where is it?” Nuparu asked. All six pairs of eyes fell upon Brutaka, who had groaned and begun to stir. Jaller strode towards him, and crouched on the ground, looking down at the injured titan.

“Do you know? If so, you need to tell us,” Jaller said. Brutaka’s blue eyes pierced through him, and his mouth remained firmly closed. Jaller’s eyes narrowed at he gestured towards Kongu. “Come here, Kongu. Do your thing.”

Kongu went to Jaller’s side and squinted at Brutaka. Confusion and disappointment flashed across his face.

“I can’t,” The Toa of Air said, “He’s got a thought-shield. I can’t quick-break through.”

Jaller gave a disappointed sigh, patting his fellow Toa on the shoulder.

“He should know,” Matoro spoke up, “He and Axonn guard the Ignika, at least that’s what Axonn said.”

Jaller turned back to Brutaka. “This is important. You need to tell us all you know.” Brutaka laboriously tried pushing himself off the ground, but collapsed with an exhausted grunt. Jaller rose to his feet, withdrawing his weapon and roughly tapping the back of the titan’s head with it. “If those brutes get the Ignika, the universe is as good as gone!” Jaller snapped. Still Brutaka said nothing.

“It’s no use. Even the most brutal torture wouldn’t loosen his lips,” an unfamiliar deep voice filled the chamber. Jaller whirled to see another titan, as tall as Brutaka, resting an overly-large battleaxe on his shoulder.

“Axonn!” Matoro exclaimed.

“Please, we need to know where the Ignika is,” Jaller said to the giant standing before him.

“No need. I will stop those two Piraka before they reach it,” Axonn began walking past him, but Jaller grabbed his massive arm, stopping him in his tracks.

“This is the fate of the universe at stake! I’m sorry, but it can’t fall into the hands of just one being, no matter how powerful! My friends and I, we’re Toa! Please, tell us where the Ignika is so we can do our jobs!” Jaller felt waves of heat coming off himself. His breath felt short. He hadn’t felt this desperate and angry since Metru Nui. Axonn turned slowly towards him, his green eyes strangely compliant.

“Very well,” the giant said formally, “I will tell you, but away from the rest of those brutes,” he gestured to the four Piraka still trapped in their stone bindings, slowly regaining consciousness. Just then, Avak’s head snapped up, his brown eyes blazing.

“Hold it!” he shouted, “You’re gonna need our help, too!”  
“No thanks,” Kongu snorted, Avak glared at him.

“I’m being serious. You’re gonna need some way to strip Brutaka’s power from those two idiots. We can help with that,” Avak sounded reasonable, but Jaller didn’t trust him one bit.

“Right, a Piraka, ‘helping.’” Kongu laughed, “Like you were ‘helping’ the matoran with construction.”

“Hey, Toa, come over here so I can bust your skull open!” Reidak said. Next to him, Vezok was snarling and thrashing about, trying to get out of his bonds.

“Reidak, shut up,” Zaktan said, then turned to the Toa, “Look, we have a common enemy now. Let us go, and we can make a sphere that’ll drain Hakann and Thok of Brutaka’s energy. The big guy gets his power back, we beat the shit out of Hakann and Thok, everyone is happy.”

The Toa exchanged looks of disgust. But soon all of them nodded at Jaller, who nodded in response, though his brow was furrowed.

“Nuparu, break them free,” he said begrudgingly. Nuparu did as he said, and the four Piraka dropped to the ground. They all got on their feet. Zaktan stepped forward, offering Jaller his hand, his eyes stone cold. Jaller fixed his gaze and shook his hand.

Zaktan immediately put Avak to work, filling a new sphere with a modified version of the green stuff that dripped from the ceiling and pooled on the floor. He placed it in Zaktan’s hand who loaded it into a launcher weapon, and tossed it from him. Hewkii caught it easily.

Axonn also handed Jaller another sphere, that was glowing slightly with golden light. “You’re going to need this,” he said simply.

“For what?” Jaller asked, feeling the weight of it in his hands.

“You’ll know when the time is right,” Axonn said, “The Ignika is surrounded by guardians, who will judge you and your friends. If you are worthy, the Ignika is yours.”

“And if we’re not—?”  
“They’ll kill you.”

Jaller’s mind flashed back to when he was a matoran on Mata Nui, and he felt the rahkshi’s staff slice through him, felt the concentrated fear that blew him backwards onto the hard ground, worst of all, the sensation of slipping away, far away somewhere he couldn’t come back from. Somewhere where there was nothing, just complete nothingness, and he was all alone, and afraid, and…

He shook his head. He wouldn’t let that happen again. Not to himself, or any of his friends, especially not the universe. He looked up at Axonn, giving him a smile. he turned to his Toa companions.

“Alright, everyone! Let’s go!”

The Toa and the four Piraka began climbing out the hole Hakann and Thok had left from. Jaller turned back to Axonn, who was standing over Brutaka’s unconscious body.

“Are you coming with us?” he called to the giant, who shook his head without looking back.

“I will stay here.”

“As backup in case we fail?”

“No,” Axonn finally turned back and looked at Jaller, “In case you succeed.” He looked down at Brutaka. Even at a distance, Jaller could see Axonn’s grip on his battleaxe tighten.

* * *

Matoro followed his companions across Voya Nui, glancing at the four Piraka stalking close by. Being this close to those monsters was uncomfortable to say the least; as soon as they brought down Hakann and Thok Matoro knew that their flimsy alliance would crumble in an instant, and they would undoubtedly have to fight again.

He thought back to Axonn, imagining the battle that would start as soon Brutaka got his power back. A being that could destroy the Toa Nuva with one stroke…the thought chilled Matoro more than any dark cavern he had traveled through. He prayed to Mata Nui to give Axonn the strength to face him.

The ground trembled, the faint sound of an explosion reached his ears, and in looking up, Matoro could see smoke billowing up in the distance.

“That has to be them!” Jaller called from the front of the group. Matoro withdrew his weapon and began sprinting after his fellow Toa in the direction of the smoke. The Piraka ran alongside them, looking like vicious predators on the hunt. They all crossed a large rocky expanse and ran through a small clearing in which grass and a few trees grew; it was the only green Matoro had ever seen on the island. They reached the slopes of the island’s great volcano, in an area surrounded by tall rocky cliffs. There, Hakann and Thok were slowly circling one another, snarling like animals. Hakann fired red beams from his eyes, and Thok ducked and rolled out of the way before the explosion hit and rocked the island once again.

Jaller called for a halt. Matoro came to a stop next to Hahli, who was gripping her weapon tight enough to turn her knuckles white. The four Piraka kept on walking.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Jaller hissed at them, “We need to wait for the right time to strike. Come back here!”

Zaktan turned around to face Jaller while Reidak, Vezok, and Avak continued towards Hakann and Thok. Zaktan peered down at Jaller, with a look that convinced Matoro that the Piraka leader could have bitten off Jaller’s head right then and there.

Instead Zaktan brought his face a mere hair’s width from Jaller’s and snarled, “There may be a truce at the moment, but we do not take orders from you.” He stalked away, leaving Jaller to glare at the back of his head.

“We stay here, and wait,” Jaller whispered to the Toa, “When the time is right, I’ll give the order and we’ll give them hell.” All the other Toa nodded in agreement. Nuparu in particular was grinning ear to ear and was bouncing slightly. Kongu nudged him in the ribs, giving him a partially amused, partially stern look. Hewkii held the launcher weapon that contained the special sphere for stripping Hakann and Thok of Brutaka’s power, his finger lightly fiddling with the trigger. Matoro took some deep breaths to calm his racing heart and held his weapon at the ready.

The four Piraka charged head on towards their two former comrades. Zaktan and Reidak ran after Thok, while Vezok and Avak went for Hakann. Zaktan clashed weapons with Thok, and was immediately thrown backwards onto the rocky ground. he dissolved into a cloud of particles, and scattered. Reidak began tossing loose boulders at Thok, who dodged nimbly out of the way, his normally bored expression replaced with a wide Piraka grin. One boulder almost found its target, but Thok punched it to dust.

“Too bad,” Thok taunted, “Now you’re stupid _and_ weak!” As Reidak sprang forward to throw some punches in his direction, Zaktan’s particles reformed behind Thok, and he pressed his three-bladed sword to his throat. Thok shrugged him off, twisting Zaktan’s arm behind him and forcing him to the ground. Another boulder struck Thok straight between the should blades, and as he whirled to face Reidak, Zaktan dissolved once again, his particles swirling around him and whizzing down Thok’s throat.

Thok began choking, and Reidak took the chance to knock him down, pinning him to the ground with his knee. Thok spat, coughed, then bucked as hard as he could, throwing Reidak off his back. Reidak stumbled backwards, and Thok’s eyes flashed, and Reidak lost his balance and stumbled into a small rocky pit. Thok coughed violently again, and Zaktan’s particles were expelled from his mouth. As Zaktan reformed, Thok’s eyes flashed again and Zaktan also fell.

Meanwhile, Avak and Vezok were stalking Hakann. Avak threw up his arms, and a large cage formed around Hakann. When the Piraka tapped curiously on the bars, they vibrated and rang with an unpleasant sound. Hakann threw his head back and gave a mocking laugh.

“Nice work, Avak,” he taunted, “Only one problem…” he drew his fist back and punched the bars so hard they shattered, and he stepped casually out of the cage, “…a cage designed for Hakann wouldn’t hold Brutaka.”

Vezok sprang at Hakann, baring his teeth like an animal. Hakann threw him off easily and shot the red beams from his eyes. They stuck Vezok head-on, and the explosion slammed him into a rocky wall. Vezok slumped over for a minute, but his head jerked up and his eyes flashed red like Hakann’s, shooting beams back at him. Hakann dove out of the way of the explosion just in time. Avak had in the meantime managed to load up his launcher weapon and began firing liberally in Hakann’s direction. The Piraka dodged most of it, and shrugged off the shots that hit. He leapt up rocky walls and back down, laughing the whole way.

“Okay, everyone,” Jaller said, bringing all the Toa back to attention, “Split up into two groups and surround them. We need to bring Hakann and Thok close together. Once they are, Hewkii, take the shot.”

“Got it,” Hewkii said enthusiastically.

“Let’s go!” Nuparu cried, shooting up into the air and soaring over the warring Piraka.

Matoro braced himself as total chaos erupted before them. Eye laser shots and elemental blasts laced with lightning exploded in every direction. Punches were thrown, weapons clashed together. Soon Avak, Vezok, Kongu, and Matoro had managed to back Hakann against a wall. Just as his eyes began to flash red, a slab of earth erupted under his feet and sent him flying. Matoro looked up to see Nuparu soaring above them, grinning.

Hakann landed hard on the ground, and Vezok wasted no time pouncing onto him and wrapping his hands around Hakann’s throat, squeezing with all his strength. Hakann’s eyes flashed and Vezok stumbled backwards, falling unconscious. Avak shot at Hakann, who began to pursue him, and Kongu threw a blade of air at the Piraka’s legs, sweeping them out from under him. Hakann landed face first on the ground. As he began to rise, Matoro blasted him with ice, freezing him to the ground. But Hakann broke out of the shell, and rolled up onto his feet, and began launching spheres of lava in his direction.

Meanwhile Zaktan and Reidak had just been thrown into another rocky wall by Thok. As they both struggled to recover, Thok whirled and froze a blast of water from Hahli in midair. Jaller blasted fire at him, and as Thok dodged the attack, Hahli managed to blast him with electrified water in the center of his back. Thok roared as the electricity seized his muscles, and he fell onto one knee.

A newly recovered Reidak swiftly kicked him from behind, sending him face first into a rock wall. Thok whirled, snarling, a bit of blood trickling from his nose. He fired his weapon and froze Reidak solid on the spot. Zaktan sprang forward, and the two clashed weapons once again. Thok’s eyes flashed, and Zaktan lost balance and dropped his blade, falling onto his side. Jaller sent out a blast of fire that surrounded Thok, who began slowing down a little. The heat also began thawing out Reidak, who quickly broke free from the ice and began running at Thok again.

On the other side of the area, Vezok had managed to land a punch on Hakann, whose head snapped backwards. He quickly snapped it back and returned the punch, which sent Vezok flying backwards and slamming him into a wall. He was bleeding profusely from his nose and lip. Kongu threw a few tornadoes at Hakann, forcing him to back up towards the other battle being fought against Thok.

Thok meanwhile had made all his attackers collapse from severe vertigo. And he stopped to laugh. He strode to a barely conscious Zaktan, whose breathing was labored. he grinned down at his former leader.

“Now this is a sight I’ve dreamed of for years,” he sneered, bringing a foot down on his face, “Zaktan, the great Piraka leader, that’ll be the name in the history books,” Thok kept Zaktan’s head pinned firmly to the ground, so focused on this small victory that he didn’t notice that Jaller had quickly recovered the mental attack.

He fired a blast of electrified fire at Thok, who stumbled backwards. Then, Hahli raised her arms, and the earth under Thok’s feet dissolved into mud. He promptly sank up to his neck. As he writhed, snarling in frustration, Zaktan slowly rose to his feet. His face was bruised and bleeding, but his cold green eyes remained steely and defiant. He spat blood in Thok’s face.

Thok blasted them all with another mental attack, and Piraka and Toa alike struggled to stay on their feet. Suddenly, a battered and angry-looking Hakann grabbed Thok by the back of his neck and lifted him out of the mud and threw him back onto solid ground.

“You just got more power than you could have ever dreamed of having, the power to wipe out a whole team of Toa single-handedly, and what happens? You fall in a mud puddle,” Hakann scoffed. Thok roared and launched himself at Hakann, and just as his fists made contact, a sphere whizzed through the air and struck the two Piraka. Matoro turned to see Hewkii, staring down the barrel of the launcher, its end smoking. The Toa of Stone looked pleased.

Bolts of raw energy came off Hakann and Thok, and the two Piraka collapsed limply to the ground. The energy bolts sailed over everyone’s heads and shot in the direction of the Piraka stronghold, where undoubtedly Brutaka would rise once again.

Jaller called for the Toa to regroup, and they checked each other for serious injuries. Matoro saw the Piraka a short distance away. Reidak had thrown Thok over his shoulder, and Vezok had done the same with Hakann.

“Nice shot, Hewkii,” Jaller was saying, and Matoro turned his attention to his Toa companions.

“Thanks,” Hewkii responded, then nudged Hahli playfully, “Hey, I saw that trick you did with the mud. That was incredible!”

“Not as incredible as Kongu making Hakann faceplant into the ground,” Hahli laughed.

Kongu sighed happily, “I enjoyed that a _lot_.”

“Wait, guys! The Piraka are gone!” Nuparu cried. Sure enough, the clearing was deserted. The cracks and scorch marks on the rocky walls and the mud pit on the ground were the only indications that the battle had taken place.

“They’re going after the Ignika,” Kongu said.

“Then we are too,” Jaller said. Hahli let out a squeak of pain, holding her head in her hands. “Hahli, what’s wrong?” Jaller threw his arm around her. Hahli grunted and looked about.

“I’m fine it’s just…” she grunted in pain again and turned back towards the volcano. She stared at it for a second, then turned back to her companions. Her blue eyes blazed. “I know where it is,” she said, and began running towards the slopes of the volcano. The rest of the Toa followed suit.

As they approached a sheer cliff face, Matoro felt a strange shiver deep in his chest. Somewhere beyond this wall, something was calling to him, reaching out to his very soul. His mind briefly flashed back to the dark cavern that led to Karzhani’s realm, when he had felt a hand in his that wasn’t really there. He swallowed hard.

“Over here!” Hahli called, pointing to an opening hidden among the jagged outcroppings on the cliff face. Just inside was a short tunnel that led to stairs, which were quickly lost from view in the darkness of the inside of the volcano. Hahli grunted in pain, hand to her head.

“This is the way,” she said, her voice strained, “The Ignika is at the bottom of those stairs.” Matoro felt the shiver inside him grow in intensity.

“Then we need to go now if we want to catch up to the Piraka,” Jaller said. All Toa expressed their agreement.

“Jaller, next time we go on an adventure, we need to bring more lightstones,” Kongu said, “Maybe a thousand.” The Toa laughed, and they stepped inside the cave.


	11. The 777 Stairs

Garan and his resistance team crept through the Piraka fortress, tools held at the ready. The sounds of the Toa Inika and the Piraka fighting and crashing into the walls had ceased hours ago, but they remained on their guard. Garan just hoped there were no more robotic guards around the place.

After following a winding series of tunnels from Zaktan’s chamber, they had traversed a hallway they hadn’t been in before. A few twists and turns, and they came upon a huge stone door. Garan pulled on the handle, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Kazi, help me with this,” he said, and within an instant the Ko-Matoran was by his side, pointing his sonic tools at the door. Garan pointed his tools as well.

“On three,” he said, “One…two…three!” With a combined blast from both their tools, the door was blown off its hinges and collapsed. Inside was a small square windowless room. And chained to the wall were six dirty, battered, very weak-looking Toa Nuva.

Each matoran freed a Toa each by breaking their chains, and each Toa collapsed onto the floor nearly lifeless. Garan kneeled next to Toa Onua, and in putting an ear to his mouth discovered that he was in fact still breathing.

“Yikes, how long will it take for them to recover from this?” Dalu asked, nudging Toa Gali with her foot.

Toa Tahu groaned, and began to stir. The other Toa followed suit, and the six Voya Nui matoran rushed to their aide. Two at a time, they helped each Toa to their feet. It seemed a miracle from Mata Nui himself, for each of them were able to remain standing. Garan’s heart sank as he noticed the dead-eyed expressions, the red in the whites of their eyes.

“You brought spare spheres, right Velika?” he asked the Po-Matoran, who held up a launcher weapon, nodding. Velika then fired at each Toa Nuva, and one by one their eyes returned to normal, the light of consciousness returning.

“Thank you,” Tahu said, his voice groggy as if from sleep.

“How long have we been down here? Where are the Piraka?” Pohatu asked, massaging his own temples.

“The Toa Inika engaged them in battle. Hopefully they’ve managed to survive up to now. We need to grab your weapons and armor and get back to them!” Garan explained quickly.

“Toa…Inika? Wha—who are…?” Gali said.

“We’ll explain later. We need to get out of here now,” Dalu said, and the matoran led the Toa Nuva out of the room.

* * *

The stairs kept going. No matter how long they walked, the Toa Inika had no way of telling how close they were to the Ignika’s location. Every once in a while Hahli would grunt in pain and hold her head for a second, confirming they were on the right track. Matoro was beginning to feel more and more anxious the further down they went.

“Okay, seriously, how long does the dark-tunnel go?” Kongu moaned.

“We’ve gone down 263 steps so far,” Nuparu said. All his companions turned to look at him. “What? I’ve been keeping count.”

“Why?” Hewkii asked.

Nuparu shrugged.

Matoro felt as though he’d explode from the anticipation of what awaited them when the stairs ended. “I’m scouting ahead!” he blurted out and activated his kanohi. As all weight and sensation of living left him, he saw his body collapse, and Jaller caught it before it tumbled down the stairs.

“Matoro, hold on a minute, come back!” Jaller called. Matoro’s eyes met with Hahli’s.

“I’ll only be a few minutes, I promise,” he said, and she nodded.

Matoro drifted further down the stairs, increasing his speed all the while. Movement caught his eye and he halted himself. The six Piraka were further down the stairs, and he felt an intense rush of relief that they had not reached the Ignika yet. Suddenly, he witnessed something he never would have dreamed.

A monstrous entity, which looked like another of the Pirakas’ species only completely made of gold, came into view further down the stairs and began making its way towards the Piraka. Its gold eyes had no whites, no irises, and no pupils. It bared its impossibly long and wickedly sharp teeth and snarled like a creature straight out of a nightmare. Even more unbelievable were the expressions of fear on the Piraka’s faces.

“No, no, no, that’s not possible!” Thok shouted, clutching his weapon so hard Matoro thought he’d break it.

“Shit!” Hakann cried as soon as he caught sight of the golden monster and began sprinting back up the stairs. The monster’s eyes flashed with a blinding white light, and a beam struck Hakann in the back, making him stumble up a few steps. Hakann stopped and looked down at his own hand and began screaming.

“What’s wrong with you?” Vezok snarled, but when he looked up and saw the monster, his eyes practically bulged out of his head and his mouth hung open. A terrified croak barely escaped his throat. The monster shot blinding white light from its eyes, striking Vezok on the forehead and causing him to hit the back of his head on the stairs. Reidak saw the whole thing, and began running as well, but was also struck down. The two Piraka rose suddenly, and began fighting each other.

Avak and Thok were scrambling over each other in an effort to run away. Hakann had pressed himself against the wall and was still screaming. As the monster ascended the stairs slowly, Zaktan stood his ground. Matoro drifted towards him, to find that even the Piraka leader’s cold eyes were widened in fear. Matoro wasn’t sure whether he should be amused at the sight of the Piraka being so afraid, or as terrified as they looked.

Reidak and Vezok’s battle was still going on. One struck the other, the other would strike back, and neither gained the upper hand. And neither of them looked angry or determined to win, just horrified, as if they weren’t in control of themselves.

Matoro looked back at Zaktan. He was still frozen, and the monster was a mere three steps away from him. The golden monster roared, producing a wind that blew back Zaktan’s hair. The Piraka leader flinched but remained rooted to his spot.

“Irnakk,” Zaktan said. The monster halted its advance. “You are not real.”

The monster roared again, and this time Zaktan stared directly into its gaping mouth. Matoro saw him clench his teeth.

“You are not real!” Zaktan said again. The monster raised a massive clawed hand, a mere heartbeat away from bringing it down on the Piraka leader.

“I won’t give in to you! _You are not real!_ ” Zaktan roared. His eyes blazed with cold determination. “I saw The Shadowed One’s eyes and lived. You’re only a myth created to scare lesser skakdi than me. You can’t touch me!” declared the Piraka leader.

And as suddenly as it appeared, the monster dissipated. Hakann’s screams subsided. Avak and Thok stopped running. Reidak and Vezok ceased fighting. Zaktan looked back at his companions with steely resolve.

“Get off your asses,” he snarled, and continued his descent. The other Piraka exchanged reluctant looks with one another before following him. Matoro decided to get back to his friends.

When he approached the other Toa, they were coming down the stairs. Hewkii was carrying Matoro’s body on his back. Matoro entered himself and took in a sharp breath as all physical sensations returned to him in an instant.

“Guess who just woke up?” Hewkii declared, letting Matoro down. Jaller turned to him.

“What did you find?”

“Uh…” Matoro took a second to reflect on it, “You guys aren’t going to believe me when I tell you…”

The Toa Inika’s journey continued. They didn’t speak much to one another along the way, each lost in their own thoughts and anticipation of the trials they’d soon face.

“Four hundred, exactly!” Nuparu declared at one point.

“You do realize we still don’t know how many stairs there are total,” Kongu muttered.

“Hold on,” Jaller said, holding up a hand. The other Toa halted. Jaller listened for a second. From the darkness came the faint tapping of footsteps coming up the stairs. Jaller cautiously withdrew his fire sword, and the other Toa did the same with their own weapons.

Jaller leaned close to Matoro’s ear. “Do you think it’s that golden monster?” he breathed as quietly as possible.

“I hope not,” Matoro breathed back, shuddering slightly.

The footsteps came closer and closer, until from around the bend came a tall figure, the same size as a Toa.

The Toa Inika let out a collective gasp of wonder. The figure before them was undoubtedly a Toa; he was a stranger, yet strangely familiar. Jaller’s mind reeled. The gold hair, the warm yellow eyes. He wore Toa armor and carried twin swords on his back that looked as though they could fit together…

“No way,” Jaller said, sheathing his sword, “ _Toa Lhikan?_ ”

“It can’t be,” Hahli gasped, “Lhikan died over a thousand years ago.”

“Ah, so it’s a trick,” Kongu held his crossbow aloft, pointing it straight at the legendary Toa of Fire.

“Lower your weapon,” Lhikan said gently, “It is I.”

“But you’re dead!” Nuparu said.

“Am I dead in your hearts? If not, then I am not truly dead,” The Toa of Fire responded.

“If I quick-fire this crossbow you will be,” Kongu retorted, taking aim.

“I came to give you a warning,” Lhikan continued, “You cannot go any further. The Ignika is not for you. You must turn back while you still can.”

Jaller walked down a few steps, and stared straight into Lhikan’s eyes, “If you are who you say you are, can you really say you’d turn your back on a mission when the whole universe was hinging on it?”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Lhikan said, “But then, look what happened to me.”

Jaller sprang forward, reaching out his hand with the intent to grab Lhikan by the collar. But Lhikan’s image faded, and his hand met empty air. He turned to look back at his fellow Toa.

“Well, that was fun,” Nuparu said with no small amount of sarcasm, “Let’s keep going.” As a team the Toa Inika continued their descent. It didn’t take long for them to hear footsteps again.

“Now what?” Hewkii said, and stopped short at the sight that emerged from lower down the stairs. Matoro bumped into him, which in turn made Nuparu bump into him. Up in the front of the group, Jaller froze in place, feeling cold dread seep into his veins. From the darkness emerged a nui-rama, a muaka, a borok, a borok-kal, a rahkshi, and worst of all, Makuta himself.

Chaos broke out in the narrow tunnel as the Toa faced up against every enemy they had faced back on Mata Nui.

“What a happy-fun reunion,” Kongu groaned as he and Hahli dodged an attack from the muaka. Hahli switched swiftly from defense to attack, conjuring up a powerful blast of water that slammed the muaka against the wall, hitting its head on the stone. It crumpled to the floor, unmoving.

“I…” Hahli said, beginning to shake, “I didn’t mean to hit it _that_ hard…”

“Hahli, look out!” Hewkii yelled, and Hahli ducked just in time for the borok to sail over her head. Hewkii started after it, but Kongu held a hand out in front of his chest.

“This one’s mine,” he said darkly, images of the destruction of Le-Koro running through his head. He withdrew his crossbow and took aim. A bigger blast of wind than he was expecting shot forth, and slammed into the borok, which practically broke into pieces. Kongu stumbled from the blowback, staring at the heap in horror.

Up ahead, Jaller was clashing weapons with the rahkshi. The creature hissed at him and conjured up very unpleasant memories. He was a matoran on Mata Nui. His friend Takua was in trouble. He charged at the rahkshi to protect him, and…

There was pain. Then silence. Then unspeakable cold wrapping around him like blackened tendrils from the dark…

Jaller felt his weapon move on its own, and a surprisingly large blast of fire exploded forth. The rahkshi fell, singed to the bone. The sight made him feel sick.

Each Toa felled their respective opponents, with a surge of elemental power that was far more than they anticipated. The nui-rama was crushed by a large earthen pillar Nuparu conjured from the floor, and when he lowered it, it dropped to the ground, crumpled beyond recognition. Hewkii punched the borok-kal far harder than he intended, and it shattered against the wall. And lastly, Matoro froze Makuta solid, and without thinking, swung his sword, and shattered the Master of Darkness to pieces.

The six corpses scattered on the stairs shimmered slightly, and each took on a new form. The Toa Inika stared down at them, with equal parts horror and revulsion at what they had done. Their collective panicked breathing was the only sound in the tunnel. By the glow of the sparse lightstones, they saw the forms of the six Toa Nuva, battered and dead.

Jaller dropped his fire sword, trembling all over.

“We just…no…” Hewkii stammered, sitting on the stairs and putting his head in his hands.

“It can’t be…we…didn’t…” Hahli said, clutching Jaller’s arm. They both stared down at the broken bodies of the Toa Nuva. Jaller scanned each of their faces. Even if it was some kind of illusion, the sight was unbearably painful, and he couldn’t look away.

“No.” Kongu said firmly, bringing all to attention. “They had no mind-thoughts. It couldn’t have been the Toa Nuva.”

Matoro rose to his feet, standing taller than he ever had in his life. “The Ignika is testing us,” he said with resolve, “It’s shown us our greatest fear. But we can move past it.”

“But, what if something like this _did_ happen?” Jaller stared into Matoro’s eyes. He still looked very shaken. “What if we slip up just once, and lose control, and end up hurting our own allies, or each other?!” Hahli squeezed his hand, looking equally worried.

“It won’t happen if we don’t let the fear control us,” Matoro said, “We keep moving forward. No matter what mistakes we make along the way, no matter how afraid we get, we have a duty to the whole universe, and to the Great Spirit. Remember the Toa Metru, that even after being rejected by the very city they called home, after being mutated into monstrous versions of themselves, they still worked towards liberating us from Makuta’s clutches? Remember the Toa Nuva, having been told to risk their lives for a world they barely knew, and even after having lost their elemental powers, still did everything they could to protect us and face Makuta?” Matoro paused for a second, noticing that all five of his companions were completely focused on him.

“Now we bear the responsibilities of Toa, and we have a destiny that lies at the bottom of these stairs. We didn’t ask for the power that was given to us, but we have it. And it’s our duty to use it. If we give in to fear now, then we’re dooming everything and everyone we love. We are going to keep walking, and we are going to find the Ignika, and we are going to do everything we can to save the life of the Great Spirit.”

Matoro felt winded. He didn’t intend for that many words to spill out, but it seemed to change the atmosphere of the tunnel. The despair hanging above them seemed to lift, and the bodies of the “Toa Nuva” faded away just as the shade of Lhikan had. His companions stood a bit taller, and small smiles began forming on their faces. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Jaller, who gave him an encouraging nod.

The Toa Inika continued their descent. And this time, it was Matoro that led them all into the depths of Voya Nui to face their destiny.

* * *

The Toa continued in silence once again. Jaller felt himself gripping Hahli’s hand much harder than before, but she didn’t protest. It was nice to see Matoro taking the lead, but at the same time Jaller had the feeling that he will never truly feel secure until his team found the Ignika.

The stairs seemed to have no end. Jaller imagined that they could lead right back down to Karzahni’s realm and hoped with his entire being that they wouldn’t. After several minutes of walking, the stairs leveled out into a small circular chamber. The stairs continued on the other side of it. As soon as the Toa Inika stepped into the chamber, two stone slabs closed off both ends, blocking access to the stairs on both sides.

“No problem!” Hewkii declared, and drew back his fist to punch down the stone walls. But his fist crashed into the wall, and didn’t leave a single crack. He grunted in pain and clutched his fist in his other hand.

“Hold on a sec,” Nuparu pushed him aside and did the same. Again, he didn’t even scratch the surface of the rock.

“Great,” Kongu sighed, “now what?”

_This is the Chamber of Death. None shall pass on to the Chamber of Life until the price is paid._

“Everyone heard that, right?” Nuparu said. All the Toa glanced about the small chamber. There was nothing on the walls or ceiling; no ventilation shafts or holes that a voice could have come from. It was as if something was speaking to their collective minds. Jaller felt a chill run up his spine.

Matoro looked upwards. “What is this price?” he asked, his voice even.

_One of you must die, so the rest can live._

“I’ll do it,” Matoro declared. The Toa exchanged wide-eyed glances at one another. Jaller let go of Hahli’s hand to grab Matoro’s shoulders.

“No, you can’t!” he cried, feeling himself trembling. Matoro met his gaze, his blue eyes steely with determination.

“It’s the only way we’re getting out of here,” he said.

“But _you_ won’t!” Jaller said, desperation building inside him, “We need to stick together! Getting the Ignika is our destiny!”

Matoro smiled sadly, “It’s okay, Jaller. I was only ever good as a translator. The rest of you can carry on without me.”

“That’s not true,” Kongu said firmly, “You’re just as much a Toa-hero as the rest of us.”

Jaller tightened his grip on Matoro’s shoulders, but the trembling wouldn’t stop. “Please, Matoro,” he pleaded, “Let me...” his voice failed him as the memories of dying on Mata Nui flashed through his mind again.

“No,” Matoro said, gently removing Jaller’s hands, “I’m doing it. You can’t stop me.”

“Matoro!” Hahli cried, sounding upset.

“This isn’t fair!” Nuparu said.

“There’s gotta be another way…” Hewkii added, his voice faltering a bit towards the end.

_It is decided._

Once the disembodied voice faded away, the light in Matoro’s eyes flickered out, and he collapsed onto the floor.

“No!” Jaller felt his voice break as he rushed to catch his friend. He could hear Hahli sobbing.

The other Toa gathered around Matoro’s body, barely noticing that the stone slabs had opened up once again. They were all panicking and mourning, trying to support Matoro’s limp form.

_The payment has been made. You have passed the test of the Chamber of Death._

Before any of the Toa could say another word, Matoro took in a sharp breath, and his blue eyes fluttered open again.

“Matoro!” Jaller exclaimed, pulling him into a tight embrace. The other Toa joined in, all half-laughing and half-weeping in relief.

“Urm…guys…you’re crushing me…” Matoro’s voice broke through the tight cluster of bodies. His teammates all jumped back, laughing and apologizing. They allowed him to stand. Once on his feet, Matoro smiled at them all.

“Let’s keep moving,” he declared. The Toa agreed collectively and followed him down the stairs once again.

“Mata Nui, I don’t know how much more of this mad-stress I can take,” Kongu sighed, massaging his temples. Nuparu slapped him encouragingly on the back.

Down more stairs, the Toa Inika spoke very little. Nuparu called out “five hundred!” and “six-hundred!” Moments later, up around a bend in the stairs, there was a bright yellow glow. Jaller felt a twinge of excitement in his chest. The yellow glow got brighter until it was nearly blinding, and there’s only one source of that kind of light he could think of. He trotted ahead of his fellow Toa, expecting to see his friend Takanuva around that bend.

Jaller stopped dead as he found himself facing the strange entity that gave off the glow. He was tall, stone-faced, with long grey hair and blank yellow eyes. Not Takanuva. Jaller felt disappointment weigh on his chest. His companions halted right behind him.

Before he could ask, the stranger introduced himself.

“I am Umbra. I guard the Ignika. You will not pass this point.”

Kongu pushed past everyone, including Jaller, his green eyes blazing.

“Look here, rahi-breath! We are sick of dealing with freaks like you. Move aside and let us do our jobs!” he snarled. Umbra was unmoved.

“Such rashness shows you are unworthy to have the Ignika.”

Hahli spoke up, sounding as tired and annoyed as Kongu, “Look, how many more battles need to be fought? How many lives is the Ignika really worth?”

“If you know not the worth of the Ignika, then why have you come here?” Umbra stared hard at the Toa of Water.

Umbra was gone in the next second, and reappeared behind the group of Toa, all of which involuntarily dropped their weapons. Their weapons clattered down a few steps noisily, setting them all on edge.

“How—?” Hewkii barely got the question out before Umbra disappeared again, and the Toa of Stone was knocked off his feet. One by one, the other Toa stumbled and fell, while Umbra teleported around the room as quick as a beam of light.

Matoro shook off his disorientation and summoned up as much power as he could. He raised his hands, coating the whole tunnel with ice. Umbra slid past the Toa again, but this time he slipped and tumbled head over heels backwards down several steps. The strange guardian began to rise to his feet, and Nuparu sent him flying with a slab of earth from under his feet. Umbra hit the stairs hard and lay for a few moments.

“Go!” Jaller shouted to his companions, summoning up some heat to melt the ice and he and his companions began running down the stairs past their opponent. But as he passed Umbra, Jaller saw his body dissolve into a beam of light, which began whizzing through the tunnel, knocking the Toa down again. And before they could get back on their feet, they were thrown violently forward.

Jaller clutched his head, which was throbbing. Matoro was a few steps below him, and almost on his feet again. In a split second, the beam of light was headed towards his friend, and Jaller leapt for him. The beam of light struck Jaller instead, and he hit the ground hard.

Matoro knew what he had to do. He called upon even more power than before, and he coated the walls with thick smoothed layers of ice. Hahli noticed what he was doing, then quickly sprang into action, conjuring as much moisture from the air as she could as Matoro froze it.

Soon the walls were smooth and glassy, and highly reflective. Umbra began bouncing off the walls and reflecting more and more rapidly until it was so fast it was impossible to register. But before they realized it, the Toa finally saw Umbra’s unconscious form hit the ground, stunned.

“We’re almost there!” Matoro called from the front of the group, “Let’s go!”

Jaller ran alongside Hahli, who clutched at her head and grunted in pain more often. Finally, at long last, the stairs came to an end (with Nuparu shouting “Seven-hundred and seventy-seven!”), and the tunnel opened up to a larger chamber. The path dropped off into a sheer cliff with a river of lava at the bottom of it. There was a long stone bridge that stretched across it to the other side, where awaited a gigantic stone door.

Squinting, Jaller could see that the Piraka were now on the bridge. _Good_ , he thought, _we caught up to them._

“Nuparu!” Jaller shouted.

“I got it!” Nuparu cried out gleefully, and he soared into the air. Focusing his weapon, he fired out a few shockwaves that shook the bridge enough to cause the Piraka to stumble. The brutes began scrambling over each other to reach the other side of the river. Zaktan was the only one who stood his ground and began firing one of those launcher weapons at the Toa, who began to storm the bridge.

As the other Toa fought, Kongu rushed ahead of his companions. Impulsively, he thrust his hands forward, blasting a large cyclone in Zaktan’s direction. The Piraka leader dissolved into particles, and all the bits were taken by the strong winds and spiraled backwards. The winds also proved too much for the bridge, which promptly cracked and collapsed from under Kongu and his companions.

“Stupid,” he told himself as he began to fall. Twisting himself in the air, Kongu created a large air pocket under himself and his companions to slow their fall. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nuparu fly past and create a new earthen bridge underneath them. Each Toa caught onto it before they had the chance to plunge into the lava below.

The Piraka were gone, undoubtedly they had managed to get into that large door. Kongu pounded his fist into the bridge.

“Stupid!” he repeated. He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Jaller.

“It’s alright,” The Toa of Fire said, “We all made it.”

Kongu cracked a small smile, deciding not to dwell on it. Nuparu created steps out of earth up to the other side where the door was. Hahli grunted in pain again.

“It’s beyond that door,” she said.

The Toa made their way up to it quickly, knowing full well it may only be a matter of minutes before the Piraka got their hands on the Ignika first. Together Nuparu and Hewkii pushed open the door and they all ran inside.

The first thing they saw was four Piraka lying in a heap on the stone floor. Then beyond that was a large pool of lava. Next to it was a large beast that looked like a fusion of two Piraka. And in the center of that pool, was a gigantic spiderlike creature, and on its back was what looked like another Piraka. He had long grey hair and blazing red eyes, he wore a long tattered black cape and held a long pointed staff. There were chains around both his wrists and ankles that were tethered to the back of the giant spider.

He saw the new arrivals, and spread his arms wide. His grin seemed almost wider somehow.

“Finally! It’s about damn time!” He proclaimed, in an overly enthusiastic tone.


	12. The Order

Axonn stood vigil over Brutaka, who lay still on the stone floor of the nearly destroyed basement chamber of the Piraka fortress. It didn’t take as long as he expected for the energy to come surging back into his former friend, in the form of bolts of lightning. _So, the new Toa have succeeded_ , he thought grimly. Brutaka groaned and began pushing himself off the floor.

“Don’t think of starting another fight,” Axonn warned him, “You won’t win.”

“I don’t know or care what you want from me,” Brutaka grumbled as he brought himself to his feet. He withdrew his double-bladed sword and held it at the ready. “So if you don’t want another fight, you’ll leave me be.”

Axonn saw Brutaka’s eyes change. Their blue color paled and turned white, eliminating his pupils. That could only mean one thing. Axonn instinctively readied his battleaxe and took a swing at Brutaka, who spun nimbly out of the way. Their weapons clashed. Brutaka’s eyes were still whited out. Behind him a swirling black void began to take shape, distorting the matter around it. Axonn directed another blow at him, and Brutaka stepped backwards towards the vortex.

So, the two began to clash once again, and Axonn began to feel desperation and rage building up, pouring the two emotions into every swing of his axe. He could not let Brutaka enter the vortex, no matter what. His former friend blocked every blow with his sword, his full strength seemed to have returned.

Axonn side-stepped and attacked from a slightly different angle, hoping to push Brutaka away from the vortex. He stepped a bit too close to the distortion and could feel its pull. He stepped away as Brutaka swung his sword at his head, holding his battleaxe over himself to block the blow.

Their weapons filled the broken chamber with sharp clanging sounds, and occasionally one or the other would strike the walls and break off more chunks of rock. This lasted for mere minutes before a loud roar surrounded them, and the two titans lowered their weapons, looking about the chamber.

Axonn was the first to see him. The strangest looking bipedal being you’d ever see, with large sharpened teeth set in a large square jaw. His small eyes swiveled between him and Brutaka, who was glaring at the newcomer so hard it could kill.

“Botar,” Axonn said, attaching his battleaxe to his back armor.

“Spare the formalities. You know why I’m here,” the being called Botar said. It always amazed Axonn that he could even speak with a mouth like that.

“He’s made mistakes, but please, he doesn’t deserve—,”

“—It’s the law.”

Brutaka lunged forward, drawing back his sword. Axonn swiftly withdrew his axe and swung it upwards, slicing Brutaka’s chest armor and half of his face. Then he brought an elbow down on his shoulder, knocking his former friend unconscious. His blood pooled on the floor.

Botar wasted no time picking up Brutaka and slinging him over his broad shoulder. Axonn could see that the vortex Brutaka had opened up was slowly vanishing. Botar began to exit the chamber. Axonn stood and watched for a moment, feeling a heavy sinking sensation in his chest as he put away his battleaxe again.

“You can throw him in the Pit, but I hope you realize I’ll still try to save him,” Axonn called after Botar. Botar laughed a very ragged and unsettling laugh.

“Good luck with that,” he sneered.


	13. Vezon

“Hello, hello! What have we here?” the gray-haired Piraka greeted the Toa Inika rather enthusiastically, “Oh, what a fun little team you are! And you all have such pretty eyes!”

Matoro looked back at his teammates, who all wore expressions of incredulity. He faced the Piraka again, and he felt a powerful twinge in his chest. At the same time, Hahli grunted loudly and clutched her head in her hands, falling to her knees.

“It’s here. It’s in here!” Hahli said through clenched teeth. Matoro’s heart skipped.

The gray-haired Piraka glanced about the chamber, a look of exaggerated confusion on his face. “What’s here?” When he turned to face the wall behind him, all the Toa Inika collectively gasped.

Attached to the back of his head was a shining golden mask.

“The Ignika!” Hewkii breathed in awe. The gray-haired Piraka whirled to face the Toa, a grin spreading across his face. He tilted his head to the side, pointing to the back of his head.

“What, this? You’re here to take it from me?”

“More or less,” Kongu said.

“Alright,” the gray-haired Piraka, readying his long spear and tugging on the chains that attached him to the giant spider creature he rode on, “Come and get it!” He pulled back hard on the chains and the spider creature reared back, and brought its massive legs down. The ground shook violently.

Hewkii produced a large pointed slab of rock from the floor, and tossed it at an angled bit of ceiling just above the Piraka’s head. It struck and bounced off, but before it could knock the Mask of Life off the back of the Piraka’s head, he moved out of the way, and the rock only struck his shoulder.

“I don’t appreciate you throwing things at me,” the Piraka sneered, and he tugged the chains again. His spider creature struck the ground again, causing all the Toa to lose their footing, and for a few loose stones rise off the floor of the chamber and fall back down noisily. The gray-haired Piraka caught one from midair and tossed it back at Hewkii. The Toa of Stone twisted out of the way, but was unprepared for the second rock that sailed towards him. It struck him square in the chest, and he flew backwards, hitting the stone wall behind them all. He lay stunned.

Jaller and Matoro alternated between blasting the Piraka with electrified fire and ice, but stopped after a minute after seeing how it unfazed him. Instead, the gray-haired Piraka’s arms and chest seemed to swell with more muscle. The spider also seemed to swell, and veins began to show under its armor-like hide.

“What kind of Piraka are you?” Hahli asked.

The gray-haired Piraka did a double-take and stuck out his tongue. “Yuck, I don’t like that term in the slightest,” he gestured to the unconscious bodies of the four Piraka and the one Piraka fusion on the floor, “Please don’t group me in with these losers.”

“What should we name-call you, then?” Kongu taunted as he fired a concentrated blast of air from his crossbow. All it did was blow back their enemy’s hair and cape.

“How polite of you,” their opponent said, placing a hand on his chest and bowing low, “I’m Vezon. It’s a pleasure to have you all as my guests.” Then all at once he and the spider charged forward with blinding speed, caught Jaller on the flat end of his spear, and flung him across the chamber where the Toa of Fire hit a wall and collapsed to the floor. Vezon repeated the same actions on each Toa Inika, and soon all six of them were on the floor.

“That’s a good boy, Fenrakk,” Vezon cooed, patting the spider creature on the head.

He sat and waited until the Toa were all back on their feet again, dazed and injured, but not out of the battle yet. Each of them then threw more energy at Vezon, who once again swelled instead of crumpling against the wall behind him.

“No, no, no,” he scolded, pulling the chains to make Fenrakk strike the ground again. The Toa all flew into the air and fell again, with the exceptions of Nuparu and Kongu, who both took flight with their powers. “You tried that already! You’re just making everything worse for yourself!” Vezon cracked another wild grin, and swiftly batted Nuparu out of the air with his spear.

Kongu landed on the floor and planted his feet. Glaring at Vezon, he raised his hands, and drew the air out of the area around the Piraka and his pet. The air swirled in a vortex around them, trapping them in a vacuum. Noticing this, Matoro raised his hands as well, and lowered the temperature around Vezon and Fenrakk until frost coated their bodies.

The two were clearly slowed by this attack, and the spider tried taking a shaky step but gave up rather quickly. Vezon gripped his spear tighter, and began raising it above his head. He struck his own pet on the head with the blunt end of his spear. Vezon kept hitting his pet, and with each strike, Fenrakk swelled with muscle and strength, eventually shattering his coating of ice and charging towards the Toa once again.

Jaller stepped forward and blasted the ground in front of their opponents with heat, melting it into a pool of lava large enough for the giant spider. Sure enough, the spider dipped its leg into the lava by accident, and shrieked and reared back, nearly throwing Vezon off its back.

Nuparu blasted off again and got behind them, swerving out of the reach of Vezon’s spear. Mustering up all his strength, he summoned a giant slab of earth that struck the beast and its rider from behind, knocking them forward into the lava pool. The two shrieked as they sank, taking the Ignika with them.

The six Toa stood around the pool, unsure of what to do next.

“There goes the universe-saver,” Kongu said dryly.

“I’m going in after it,” Jaller stepped forward. Hahli caught his arm.

“Oh, no you’re not,” she snapped. Jaller turned to look at her and noticed her glare. “You wouldn’t last ten seconds in there!”

“I can take the heat longer than anyone else here. I’ll grab the Ignika and toss it back out to you guys. And Matoro,” he said, meeting the Toa of Ice’s bright blue eyes, “Make sure to take care of the others for me.”

Matoro shook his head wordlessly, his eyes shining with worry.

“You’re mad-crazy, Jaller!” Kongu said.

“I’m sorry,” Jaller said. He gently shrugged out of Hahli’s grip and started towards the lava pool. But right before he took the plunge, the Mask of Life itself rose up from the lava.

Nuparu let out a short laugh, “Oh, good. Problem solved!”

But no one else laughed. Soon the Ignika rose higher, and the Toa discovered much to their chagrin that it was still attached to a very much still-alive Vezon, who of course was grinning ear to ear.

“Aw, you guys looked like you missed me! I’m flattered,” Vezon sneered. From under the mad Piraka’s feet and the lava rose a large dragon-like creature in place of the giant spider from before.

Kongu didn’t hesitate to direct another powerful air blast at Fenrakk, who stumbled backwards this time, rather than absorbing the energy. This gave Kongu a bit of hope, until the monster turned on him, and fired a concussive blast from its mouth, knocking Kongu back hard through a stone wall, stunning him.

“Oh, good little Kardas! Who’s my favorite engine of destruction? You are!” Vezon cooed, petting the back of the dragon’s neck.

“Kardas? You said its name was Fenrakk earlier,” Nuparu said, dodging another one of the dragon’s blasts that shattered a stone pillar behind him.

“But ‘Kardas’ fits him so much better now,” the Piraka said affectionately.

Hahli aimed her harpoon weapon and fired a powerful blast of water and electricity at the Piraka and his pet, and they both seized and stumbled when struck. As the dragon’s head swiveled around and took aim at the Toa of Water, Hahli managed to dive and roll out of the way of the blast, which shattered a large portion of the wall behind her.

The dragon also managed to swipe Jaller with his tail, sending the Toa of Fire tumbling across the rocky floor, landing next to an also unconscious Kongu.

Working together, Matoro spread a thick layer of ice under the dragon’s feet, and as Kardas began to slip, Hewkii summoned a large stone fist from the ground under the ice, and struck hard, causing Kardas and Vezon to tumble backwards.

Nuparu fired shockwaves from his weapon at them from the air, causing them to fight to stay balanced. Unfortunately, Kardas managed to swat Nuparu out of the air with his massive tail, and the Toa of Earth plummeted. Hewkii leaped and managed to grab him before he crashed to the ground.

After planting Nuparu safely onto his feet, Hewkii called Hahli and Matoro over, and the four of them readied themselves to fire all their energies at Kardas. The combined energy blast from the four Toa and another concussive blast from the dragon collided head-on, sending shockwaves throughout the chamber.

The Toa persisted, pouring out their energies, pushing against the energy from the dragon. It was becoming clear to Hewkii, as well as his fellow Toa, that their strength was faltering, and that Kardas was showing no signs of tiring. The dragon’s energy eventually overwhelmed the Toa’s, and soon all four of them were blasted backwards and stunned.

Kongu finally came to, and shakily began to push himself up off the ground. As he rose to his feet, he saw his fellow Toa fall from a great blow from the dragon. Vezon was giggling uncontrollably and the sound of it bounced crazily off the walls. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jaller begin to stir and sit himself up.

“This is mad-chaos,” Kongu said to himself. There had to be a way to beat this monster and its crazed rider. Taking cover behind a rock, he poured all his focus into his kanohi. He expanded it, hearing all the thoughts of his fellow Toa, a few of the simple beastly instincts of the dragon, and Vezon’s mental ramblings, a chaos of noise. But he heard another mental voice that was unfamiliar to him.

It was faint, but it was there. It saw many things. Great wars were fought over it. Several guardians were stationed to protect it. Too many unworthy souls pursued it, only to meet their ultimate demise. Most importantly, it talked of how much it despised Vezon, what a loathsome and unworthy creature he was. More than anything, it desired…

Kongu nearly gasped out loud at what he saw from this mysterious mind. It was Matoro, as a matoran, trudging through the dark tunnel that led them out of Metru Nui. It reached a hand out to him, and in his selflessness, Matoro led it out of the cave. It saw Matoro face Karzhani, step forward to make the sacrifice in the Chamber of Death, and rally the Toa into continuing their fight. It felt his soul, and knew he possessed a noble heart. He was worthier than any living thing it had encountered. If only there were a way to unfuse itself from Vezon’s cursed head…

Kongu pulled himself out of the vision, and sat behind that rock, dazed for a second. Snapping back to reality, he rushed over to Jaller, who had made it to his feet, and was starting to take aim at Kardas and Vezon. Kongu nudged his shoulder.

“What is it?” Jaller asked, lowering his weapon.

“The Ignika. It has mind-thoughts,” Kongu said, “No time to go into the details, but it wants Matoro.”

“What do you mean?”

“It chose Matoro to be its new guardian. It wants to get away from Vezon!”

“Hey, are you two gossiping about me? Rude.” The two Toa realized that Kardas was towering directly over them, and Vezon was peering down at them with blazing red eyes.

Kardas swung his tail around, but Kongu and Jaller dodged in different directions. Jaller began firing his weapon at the dragon, and while he and Vezon were distracted, Kongu focused his kanohi towards the Piraka. He began filling Vezon’s mind with the Ignika’s thoughts. And as Kardas continued to stomp after Jaller, Vezon began whipping his head about in confusion.

“What, are you serious?” The Piraka said, his eyes wide, “Is that really how you feel?” His expression darkened, while his red eyes filled with distress. “But why? _Why?_ I did _everything_ you asked of me! No one has laid a finger on you in a millenia! _I_ protected you!”

Vezon’s lips curled into a snarl. He yanked on Kardas’s chains so hard the creature bellowed in protest as his head swung away from Jaller and towards Matoro instead. The Toa of Ice was on his feet again, and readying his weapon. Vezon fixed him with the most intense glare of hatred Kongu had ever seen.

“So, it wants _you._ It chose you over _me!_ After all I did!” Vezon raised his spear, and energy began crackling up its shaft and around its sharpened tip. He pointed it at Matoro, who was planting his feet, preparing for the blow. “Let’s see how much the Mask will like you once I’m through!”

Jaller saw this go down, and he remembered the sphere Axonn had given him. The titan had told him to use it in the most dire situation, and this seemed an appropriate time. He pulled out a launcher and loaded the sphere in it. Before Vezon had a chance to fire the energy from his spear at Matoro, Jaller shot him with the golden sphere, and the Piraka and his dragon froze in time and space on the spot, enveloped in a golden light.

“Matoro, go grab the Ignika!” Jaller shouted. Matoro looked taken aback, staring at the Toa of Fire. “Go,” Jaller urged, “I don’t know how long this will last!”

“Why Matoro?” Hewkii called out from across the chamber.

“Just trust me on this, the Mask wants Matoro!” Jaller called back.

Matoro swallowed audibly and jogged towards their two frozen opponents. He climbed up the scaly protrusions on the dragon’s back, and pulled himself up right behind where Vezon stood, frozen in a wild expression of rage and despair.

Matoro reached out and got ready to pry the Mask of Life off the back of Vezon’s head, but it came off a lot easier than expected, making him nearly fall off the dragon. The Ignika was also surprisingly warm, like it was alive itself.

“I—I’ve got it!” He cried, raising it above his head. His fellow Toa cheered in victory—and in great relief—as he made the climb back down.

“Great job,” a cold voice said, causing the cheers to die immediately. Feeling a powerful mixture of fear, anger, and exhaustion, Matoro turned to see that the six Piraka had revived themselves, with Zaktan at the forefront of the group.

“Now we don’t have to worry about Vezon anymore. And you’ll be handing over the Mask if you know what’s good for you,” the green-haired Piraka leader’s face split into a toothy grin.


	14. The Chase

As Matoro clutched the Ignika, all whilst backing away from Zaktan’s advance, he suddenly began to feel all of his injuries from the fight with Vezon and Kardas. He was dripping blood on the floor from several lacerations, and he was positive his ribs were bruised. Looking at his teammates, he could see none of them fared any better than him. And the Piraka had had time to recover while the Toa were fighting Vezon; at the most they looked a bit dirty. He sighed inwardly.

“Hand it over,” Zaktan hissed, his cold green eyes cutting into his own, “Unless you think in your state you could take us in a fight.”

Before Matoro could retort, he heard some of his teammates gasp. He turned to discover that the effect of the golden sphere was wearing off of Vezon and Kardas, and the two began to stir. Fortunately, they both seemed weakened. Kardas began to collapse onto the floor, and Vezon tumbled limply off his back. Before the beast hit the floor, however, he turned to Matoro and sent one final blast at him, knocking him off his feet and causing his grip on the Ignika to slip.

All at once, the Piraka began to charge for the Mask, but before it hit the stone floor, the Ignika slowed its own fall, hovered in midair for a second, and flashed out of the chamber, up the 777 stairs. As Matoro scrambled to his feet, the other Toa started back up the stairs, with the Piraka in close pursuit. Nuparu used his powers to break up the floor and pin the Piraka down with large slabs of earth. Zaktan dodged this by breaking up into his many particles, but Matoro blasted him with ice, flash-freezing him. Nuparu patted him on the shoulder, and they and their fellow Toa sprinted up the stairs like the universe depended on it; which, it did.

They were able to keep the Mask within their sights on their steady ascent. Matoro was also happy to see that no more strange apparitions or guardians stood in their way. When they all finally made it back above ground, they could see the Ignika floating above them, as if it were waiting for them to catch up. Then, just as Matoro started running after it again, it shot itself down into the ocean.

Hahli rushed past Matoro, yelling “I’ll get it!” and swiftly dove into the murky water. She kept her eyes on the Ignika, even in this tainted sea its glow was bright. She pumped her legs and arms harder, reaching a hand out to grab at it. Suddenly, she felt immense pressure all around her, more than what should have been at that depth. Her lungs strained, but she almost had it…

She coughed, and her body seized, as water began rushing down her throat. She kicked and fought, but the Mask was getting further from her fingertips. Finally the pain was too great, and she tried desperately to claw her way back to the surface. Her lungs were squeezing painfully in on themselves, as more and more water replaced the air that should have been there.

“What I wouldn’t give to have Gali’s kanohi…” was her last thought as she lost consciousness.

Back up on the surface, Matoro watched the surface of the water, along with his four other companions. He could feel the anticipation in every one of them. He didn’t want to worry; she was a Toa of Water in her own element, after all. But Matoro was beginning to get the sense that something was wrong. Another minute, and there was still no sign of Hahli.

Before any of them could offer to go in after her, suddenly Hahli’s head and shoulders burst out of the surface, and collapsed limply onto the rocky sand. She wasn’t moving. Jaller was the first by her side. He rolled her over onto her side.

“Hahli? _Hahli?!_ ” the Toa of Fire’s voice nearly breaking with worry. But soon the Toa of Water coughed, and water flowed from her mouth. Jaller held her as she coughed and sputtered, ridding her lungs of the murky sea water. She drew in a breath, and all the Toa breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“I really hate the irony of this,” Hahli said with a weak smile. Jaller laughed and embraced her.

“Hey, who’s that?” Hewkii said, pointing to a small form that had come up out of the water after Hahli. It was a matoran, coughing and wheezing, lying awkwardly on his side.

Jaller turned to the newcomer, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Did you…did you save her?” he asked quietly. Hahli knelt on the other side of the matoran, her eyes full of concern. The matoran didn’t answer Jaller’s question, instead he spoke in a raspy breathless voice.

“There’s…no…time…please, help us…the city…under…” and with one last horrible gasp, he went still.

The Toa stared down at the matoran, questions in all of their faces. Kongu was the first to speak up.

“Under-city? A city under where?”

“Under the water…” Hahli answered, her voice full of awe.

“What? Did you see it?” Hewkii asked.

“No, but look,” Hahli said, rolling the matoran onto his back. She turned his head and revealed the set of gills on the side of his neck.

“How…?” Nuparu breathed.

“I don’t know,” Hahli said.

“Mata Nui protect him,” Matoro said solemnly.

“So, let’s see if I understand this,” Kongu said rather brashly, “He’s from an underwater city, and this city needs help. Also, the Ignika is now down there. So, this means we’re all going for a sink-swim.”

Hahli stood up, holding the deceased matoran in her arms. “Looks like it,” she said.

“Great,” Kongu said heavily.

After a quick burial of the matoran, the six Toa Inika sat on the sand for a moment to catch their breaths. Each was still rather battered from the battle with Vezon, and each was weighed down with disappointment at having the Ignika, only to lose it again so soon.

“Hey, what’s with the glum-faces?” A familiar light airy voice reached them from over the jagged cliffs of Voya Nui. The Toa Inika rose to their feet, each with a look of utter awe and joy at the sight before them.

The six Toa Nuva were heading in their direction towards the beach. It was Lewa who had called out to them. Alongside the Toa Nuva were the Voya Nui Resistance Team and Axonn brought up the rear. Hahli rushed forward and embraced Gali, nearly knocking her over.

“We thought you were dead!” Hahli cried happily. Gali laughed as they separated.

“We almost were,” Gali commented.

“And it’s all thanks to them we’re not,” Tahu said proudly, gesturing towards the Voya Nui matoran. Jaller took Garan’s hand, shaking it enthusiastically.

“We can’t thank you enough,” he said with a smile.

“We should thank you,” Garan responded, “We couldn’t have liberated our brothers and sisters without you.”

“And if you guys never came here, there would have been no one to face the Piraka,” Tahu added, smiling proudly at Jaller and his companions.

“Speaking of which,” Nuparu spoke up, “Where are they? We slowed them down, but surely they got out of the tunnels by now?”

“We saw them running down that way, you probably scared them off,” Pohatu said with a grin, pointing backwards.

“So, where’s the Ignika?” Kopaka asked. Silence fell over the large group.

“It’s gone,” Hewkii said.

“It went under the water,” Kongu added with barely contained disgust in his voice.

“We were just trying to come up with a plan to go after it,” Jaller said, “Maybe now you six can join us.”

The Toa Nuva exchanged looks with one another.

“Actually,” Tahu said, “We were thinking we should return to Metru Nui.” Jaller’s shoulders slumped slightly. “Seeing as all of you survived the encounters with the Piraka and almost got the Mask shows that you’re capable of going after it yourselves.”

“But…” Jaller faltered for a second, “What about your destiny? Isn’t it the same as ours now?”

“Our destiny is to awaken the Great Spirit,” Kopaka said, “Yours is to save his life. We can’t fulfill ours without you fulfilling yours.”

“That makes sense,” Matoro said.

“But what about the villagers here? I doubt the Piraka just left entirely…they’re not safe here without protectors!” Hahli interjected.

“I’ll stay here and protect them,” Axonn said, bringing all attention towards him, “I won’t be hiding in the shadows any longer.” Garan and his matoran resistance team all seemed pleased at the declaration.

“You don’t become a Toa by accident,” Gali said, addressing the Toa Inika, “That is undeniable proof that Mata Nui chose you six to find the Ignika and save him from death.”

Jaller looked at all his companions, and they seemed heartened by Gali’s statement. He was too, but he also couldn’t shake the pang of sadness at the thought of saying goodbye to the Toa Nuva. They were just reunited, and now he and his friends had to descend into the murky waters around Voya Nui, and who knows if they’d ever return from that?

He broke out of his thoughts when Tahu Nuva placed a hand on his shoulder.

“We know we can count on you. We’ll be awaiting your return in Metru Nui, promise,” the Toa of Fire’s eyes shone with pride. Jaller felt a smile spread on his face.

“I can show you the way to the underwater city,” Axonn said to the Toa Inika, “Gather at the center of the village and I’ll meet you there.”

“Okay, thank you, all of you,” Jaller said. He shook Tahu’s hand, and he and his companions went around to the other Toa Nuva, exchanging similar goodbyes. Finally they parted ways, and Jaller felt a small ray of hope. Maybe, just maybe, everything will be alright. The Toa Nuva are still alive. Takanuva is probably on Metru Nui right now waiting for him and the others. They now have a course of action to get to the Ignika. Perhaps they really will be able to save the life of the Great Spirit.

Tahu, his companions, and Axonn watched the Toa Inika leave. The Toa of Fire could feel the pride swelling in his chest. He just knew that the Great Spirit’s life couldn’t be in more capable hands.

“You lied to him,” Axonn said, not even looking down at him.

Tahu let out a sigh, “Yes, I did. Where we’re going, they can’t follow.”

“Do you truly believe they’ll be alright?”

“I believe they’ll fight their hardest,” Tahu said, “I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else to carry out the task.”

“I believe they can count themselves lucky if they do survive,” Axonn said. Tahu felt a twinge of anger but fought it down. There was no mockery in Axonn’s voice, just a bluntness that carried the truth. He had to admit to himself; whatever the Toa Inika had to do, wherever they had to go to get the Ignika, it’ll be a challenge Tahu and the others couldn’t imagine.


	15. Into the Depths

Matoro led the way through the dark dripping tunnel Axonn had directed them to. It wound deep under Voya Nui and was their best chance at getting to the Ignika and that mysterious “city under the water.” Or so they all hoped. Matoro in particular felt more driven than he ever had in his life. For the brief time the Ignika was in his hands, he had felt a great sense of purpose. It felt right. Even though their way forward was dark and uncertain, he actually felt ready to face anything to get the Ignika back.

Not all his teammates were as excited as he was, however.

“This sucks,” Kongu spat. His expression was frustrated, and at the same time fear danced in his eyes. Nuparu was strolling alongside him, much more at ease. He nudged Kongu playfully.

“Nothing a Toa can’t handle,” Nuparu said encouragingly, but Kongu’s face didn’t change.

The tunnel continued to darken the deeper they went. Matoro caught a glimpse of Jaller holding Hahli’s arm. While the Toa of Fire looked a bit nervous, the Toa of Water looked rather confident, and at the approaching sound of sloshing water, Matoro could see why.

A few minutes went by, and the calm was interrupted by the tunnel beginning to shake. Kongu groaned, grabbing onto Nuparu’s shoulder for support as they all stumbled. Tiny cracks began appearing on the walls, one above them began leaking water. Hewkii stopped dead in his tracks, fear flashing across his face.

“Oh, great…” he said, visibly trembling even when the tunnel stopped shaking. More and more water began dripping through the cracks, raining upon the six Toa.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be down here. Maybe Axonn sent us down the wrong-bad tunnel…” Kongu said.

“No, this is the right way, I can feel it,” Matoro said.

“The ‘right way,’ huh?” Jaller said dryly, pointing ahead. Further down the tunnel, the Toa could see that it was flooded.

“Okay, that’s it. We’re going back,” Kongu turned to leave. Nuparu grabbed the back of his collar, preventing him from taking another step. Kongu shot him an angry look, but Nuparu stared hard at him.

“I’m scared, too, Kongu,” Hewkii spoke up, “But we _need_ to keep going. The Ignika is down there somewhere, _and_ a city of matoran that need help!”

The tension in Kongu’s shoulders seemed to leave, and he sighed heavily. Nuparu let go of his collar.

“Okay, but, none of us can breathe water,” Kongu said, “That’s problem number one.”

“That’s why I’m here,” Hahli declared, gesturing for the rest of them to follow. Matoro allowed her to take the lead. She walked down to the edge of the flood. Using her powers, Hahli called the water to rise upwards, and as the other Toa followed, she bent the water around them, forming a bubble of air to accommodate them all as they began walking further down into the flooded tunnel.

Inside their personal pocket of air, the Toa Inika trekked behind Hahli, staying as close together as possible. Matoro could see through the deep blue water that the tunnel was widening. Another tremor shook beneath their feet, and each Toa fought to stay steady. Hahli kept pressing forward, still commanding the water to stay away from her and her companions.

Both Hewkii and Kongu glanced nervously about. Matoro could see that they were now out of the tunnel, and now traversing the sandy ocean floor. He felt a shiver travel up his spine as he caught a glimpse of a dark shape forming beyond their air pocket.

“Um, Hahli?” he said.

“Yeah, I see it,” she said, continuing the trek forward.

“What? See what?” Hewkii asked nervously.

“It’s fine, I don’t think it sees us,” Hahli said.

“This sucks,” Kongu said, “I hate this.”

Suddenly a deep roar rumbled through the surrounding water. Everyone stopped in their tracks, even Hahli, who finally began to look nervous.

“It—it sees us,” she said.

The sound grew closer, and soon Matoro could make out more details in the approaching shadowy shape. It was long, finned, and had a large toothy mouth. His blood ran cold. The monster hovered in front of the Toa’s air pocket, its black beady eyes fixed on them. All six of them were frozen on the spot, trapped in a small bubble, and with who knew how much water pressing down above their heads.

The ocean floor shook again, much more violently than before. As the Toa struggled to stay on their feet, Hahli’s grip on the water around them seemed to be slackening. The air pocket vibrated, and Matoro was sure it was close to bursting.

Nuparu raised his fists, and a slab of ocean floor earth rose below the massive sea monster, knocking it a few feet backwards. The beast spun, getting its bearing again, then swam right for the six companions.

“Nice job, earth-quaker!” Kongu shouted over the beast’s roar.

“Run!” Hahli cried as the Toa began sprinting along the ocean floor while she frantically pushed at the water around them, determined to keep them all breathing air. Another tremor, and the Toa all tumbled over each other, right as a massive jaw broke through their air pocket, bursting it. Within seconds they were all bombarded by water on all sides, and Matoro felt his body spinning and tumbling uncontrollably while his lungs strained against the sudden lack of air.

He opened his eyes with great difficulty and could see the sheer length of the sea monster, its spiked fins rippling in the currents. He felt himself begin to choke, water rushing into his lungs. He pumped his arms and kicked his legs as hard as he could as panic took hold. No air, and a giant eel wanted to eat him. This made battling the Piraka look fun in comparison.

Pain exploded in his chest, and Matoro coughed violently, to no avail. There was only water. No air. No escape.

His body suddenly seized, and his muscles throbbed with pain. His lungs felt like they were imploding. Finally, Matoro felt himself take in a breath, and the pain was gone. He blinked, glancing about in confusion.

He was still underwater, as were his five Toa companions. But he was no longer drowning. Before he could wonder out loud about that, the massive eel’s shadow loomed over them all. Without another thought, Matoro congealed the water around the monster into ice. The monster began thrashing its head about, letting out another roar. Hahli thrusted her hands forward, and a powerful current pushed the monster away from them. Nuparu called up more earth from the ocean floor, forming walls around the partially frozen eel, effectively trapping it.

Their battle won; the Toa all looked at each other in utter confusion. They were still wielding their Toa weapons and wore their Toa armor, but here they were, hovering gracefully in the middle of the ocean, still alive and breathing.

Jaller glanced over at Hahli, and his eyes widened, and pointed to her neck. Matoro could see it, too. She had a few sets of gills on either side, much like the matoran that rescued her back on Voya Nui. Matoro ran his fingers over his own neck, feeling the strange ridges of his own new gills. Upon further inspection, he could feel small finlike protrusions on his arms and legs and neck, and his hands now sported webbing between the fingers.

“This is…unexpected,” Hewkii spoke out loud, bubbles escaping his mouth.

“This is the worst,” Kongu groaned, letting his body sink to the ocean floor, where he sat on a large rock. Nuparu swam past him swiftly, probably using his kanohi to power his movements.

“But look at this!” Nuparu said, twisting his body and swimming upwards in a spiral. Kongu managed to crack a small smile.

“You look ridiculous,” he said. Hahli swam up to him, looking more graceful than before, like she was born a fish. She took Kongu’s hand and began swimming him further away from the ocean floor.

“Come on, try it out,” she said encouragingly to him, “It’s not so bad.”

Kongu looked hesitant, but soon he began kicking his legs, mimicking Hahli’s movements. After a few minutes, Hahli let go of his hand and he was swimming all on his own. Nuparu spiraled past him, a huge grin on his face. Jaller began swimming alongside Hahli, even performing a few flips. Hewkii joined him, looking at all his companions in awe.

“Okay, so, I guess let’s go get the Ignika!” Hewkii said. The other Toa nodded their agreement. Matoro trailed behind Hahli, pushing away the momentary worry about their new transformation. _Focus on the mission first, then we can figure out a way to change back and return to the surface_ , he thought to himself.

The six swam in silence, keeping a wary eye on all the strange and dark creatures that swam by. Some turned to look at the Toa, only to swim away in a panic the next instant. The ocean floor formed jagged hills of stone jutting out from under the sandy floor. Hahli began swimming upwards, and her companions followed suit. She halted soon afterwards and gestured straight ahead.

Matoro could see it. About a mile away was a large dome, glowing from within. It was a small city, with a bunch of dark specks swimming about it. That had to be the city the matoran from earlier spoke about. With renewed vigor, the Toa all began swimming towards it.

They weaved through a forest of weeds which seemed to produce small bubbles of air. Crabs, about the size of Ussals, snapped up at the Toa as they skittered about the ocean floor. Up ahead loomed another jagged rock formation, covered in slimy green moss. The Toa made their way around it.

Something suddenly struck Hewkii, who tumbled head over heels into Kongu, who gasped in surprise. Jaller was struck as well and knocked into Matoro. Recovering quickly, Matoro squinted into the distance. He could see the underwater city, surrounded by matoran standing within their own air pockets, with large cannons all pointed towards him and his companions.

“Okay, great,” Kongu said, pumping his legs to avoid another projectile. It looked like the cannons were launching large pockets of air at them. Matoro swam past his companions, who were all trying to dodge the incoming attacks. He spun to avoid an air pocket, only to get hit by another one. He sputtered and choked and realized with a twinge of fear that he could no longer breathe the air. But Matoro continued forward, closer to the army of matoran guarding the large domed city.

“Hold your fire!” He cried out, bubbles escaping his mouth. He was hit with another air pocket. He coughed violently as pain wracked his body. He pushed forward still, hands raised in surrender.

“Please, my companions and I mean no harm!” he said again.

Much to his relief, a Le-Matoran towards the front lines raised his hand, and the cannons ceased firing. Matoro could hear his Toa companions beginning to swim up behind him. He approached the Le-Matoran, letting his body sink to the bottom so he could stand on his feet on the ocean floor. He looked down at the Le-Matoran, who was surrounded by an air pocket. He had no gills.

“Who are you? What are you doing outside our city?” the Le-Matoran demanded, his green eyes filled with mistrust. Matoro smiled calmly.

“We’re the Toa Inika. We were sent down here to retrieve something of great importance. We also were told this city needed our help.”

“We’re fine, thank you,” the Le-Matoran said bluntly, “What is this thing you need to retrieve?”

“Ever heard of the Ignika? The Mask of Life?” Jaller asked, walking up next to Matoro. The other Toa soon joined them on the ocean floor.

“No, and I don’t care. Your kind aren’t welcome here,” the Le-Matoran said, arms folded firmly.

“I’m sorry, but we’re _Toa_. We’re duty-bound to help matoran in need,” Kongu said impatiently.

“You can’t fool us,” the Le-Matoran said, “We know a prisoner of the Pit when we see one.” The matoran around him were also on edge, each wielding a makeshift spear within their own air pockets, pointing directly at Matoro and his companions.

“Pit? What’s the Pit?” Hewkii asked, only to have the Le-Matoran’s spear shoved in his face.

“Don’t lie to us, we’re not buying it,” he said.

“We’re not lying,” Hahli said, swimming in between Hewkii and the Le-Matoran, “We’re no prisoners, and we have no intention of harming any of you.”

“Why should we believe you?” the Le-Matoran’s hard expression didn’t change at all.

“Because if we wanted you dead, you’d be dead already,” Kongu snapped. Matoro looked over at the Toa of Air in horror, but much to his surprise, the Le-Matoran backed away, withdrawing his spear,

“Fair enough,” the Le-Matoran said, “But like I said, we don’t need your help.”

“Then, could you at least tell us where the Ignika is, or if anyone here has seen it?” Jaller asked, his voice sounding urgent.

“I already said I’ve never heard of a ‘Mask of Life,’ of whatever you called it,” the Le-Matoran said, “I suggest you leave Mahri Nui as soon as possible. Or I’ll be forced to open fire on you again.”

He turned to walk back towards the massive dome, and his matoran army followed suit. They passed through the dome that surrounded the city, their air pockets disappearing. Matoro felt frustration flare in his chest and he ran after them. As soon as he passed through the dome, however, he felt his lungs strain, and his throat dried up. He gasped painfully, collapsing onto the ground. He felt someone shove him backwards, and he re-entered the water. He gulped in the water, feeling the pain dissipate.

“You’re a water-dweller, Toa,” the Le-Matoran said rather condescendingly, “Air is poison to you, didn’t you know that?”

Matoro sighed. He turned to look at his companions, all of which looked unsure of what to do next.

“Please don’t make me ask you again to leave,” the Le-Matoran said.

“Then you’re asking me to abandon my duty as a Toa,” Matoro retorted, causing the Le-Matoran to turn around and look at him with surprise. “I’ll admit my companions and I are new to this whole…thing…but please, there must be something we can do to help. The first time we tried to come down here, my friend here almost drowned,” he pointed over to Hahli, “but a matoran rescued her. A Ta-matoran I think. He must have come from your city. He told us it needed help before he…”

He found himself unable to finish that sentence, but the Le-Matoran seemed to understand what he was saying. His green eyes grew grim. A Po-Matoran next to him placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Alright,” the Le-Matoran said, “I suppose we could use…some assistance.”

He stepped back towards the edge of the dome, allowing his hand to pass through towards Matoro. Matoro took his hand and shook it.

“I’m Defilak,” the Le-Matoran said, “I’m leader of the Mahri-Nui council.”

“I’m Matoro,” Matoro said, smiling, “and I and my companions are the Toa Inika.”

“Then, Matoro, I have a job for you and your friends,” Defilak said formally.


	16. Prisoners of the Pit

Hahli led Jaller, Hewkii, Kongu, and Nuparu towards the “air fields,” which is what Defilak had called the forests of weeds that produced bubbles of pure air. He had instructed Matoro to stay behind near the city while the rest of the Toa Inika were told to clear the air fields of the hostile crab population in order to earn the trust of the matoran of Mahri Nui. They apparently used the air fields to harvest much-needed air to keep the city’s dome intact, so the water couldn’t mutate the population into water-breathers.

Hahli and her companions came to a stop when they spotted a cluster of crabs snapping at the plants, causing pockets of air to be dislodged and float up towards the surface far above. Before they could act, however, all the crabs in the vicinity stopped short, staying still for a long moment before skittering away. They all disappeared into the weeds.

Hahli glanced around, not a crab in sight. She turned to look at her companions, all of which looked just as confused as she felt.

Nuparu mustered up a nervous smile, saying, “So…job well done?”

Hahli sensed it before she saw it, a slight vibration through the water. A shadow loomed over her and the others, and when she looked up, she saw hundreds of eyes. Or perhaps thousands.

Hahli could feel her companions draw closer to her, she could sense their hearts pounding along with hers. All those pairs of eyes just stared down at them. Squinting, she could see they were an assortment of sea creatures: sharks, eels, and squid. There were three larger creatures with them, looming dark jagged shapes backlit by the blue surface of the ocean far above.

Upon closer observation, she thought they looked like what could have been Toa a long time ago; they were large, upright and, aside from the fins, they all had two arms and two legs. One was pale, with a large triangular shark-like face. One was reddish and had pale blue eyeballs and tentacles growing from the back of its head. The third was greenish, scaly, and had large spikes protruding from its back. They all wore rusted armor coated in barnacles.

“I don’t even need to say it,” Kongu said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

“Hahli, this isn’t normal, right?” Jaller asked, “Sea creatures don’t…act like this?”

“No, they don’t,” Hahli said simply. The larger creatures hadn’t moved a muscle. Hahli made eye contact with the pale one that looked like a shark. “Who are you? What do you want from us?”

The pale one stared at her for a moment, like it hadn’t understood. But then it gestured with its hand for her to follow.

“No, we’re not doing that,” Hewkii said, reaching behind him to pull out his weapon.

“Wait,” Hahli said. She turned back to the pale shark creature, “Why do you want us to follow?” She suddenly noticed that the shark creature had a hand behind its back. The creature’s two companions began to leave, bringing with them the armies of eels and squid.

The shark creature brought whatever was behind its back to the front where the Toa could see. And they all gasped.

“The Ignika? Where did you get that?” Hahli asked. The shark creature turned slowly around, gesturing again for the Toa to follow. As he departed, the hundred or so sharks followed suit.

Hahli turned to look at her companions. Jaller put a hand on her shoulder.

“I don’t like this,” he said gravely.

“Neither do I, but…they have the Ignika,” she responded.

“Guys, you should know…I read their minds,” Kongu said.

“What was in there?” Nuparu asked.

“They were warlords. Hundreds of thousands of years ago. They’re called the Barraki,” Kongu explained, and Hahli gasped at the name, recalling where she had heard it before.

“I’ve seen the records in the Metru Nui Archives!” Hahli exclaimed, “They—,”

With an impatient snarl the shark creature bared its sharp teeth, gesturing more forcefully.

“Okay, we’ll follow them. Find out what they’re up to,” Hahli said, “Play along, do what they tell us to. Then when we get the chance, we can nab the Ignika.”

Her companions nodded. Jaller squeezed her hand, and with a warm smile, he allowed her to take the lead. So, the five Toa followed the so-called Barraki, all the while on their guard.

* * *

Matoro paced back and forth on the sandy floor, glancing out into the vast seascape. He hated being separated from his fellow Toa, forced to wait, when there was a Great Spirit to save. He noticed Defilak glance in his direction, distrust still in his eyes. Suddenly, a Ga-Matoran inside an air bubble ran up to the edge of the dome.

“Idris, what’s your report?” Defilak said.

The Ga-Matoran took a moment to catch her breath, then stood up straight. “Defilak, um, I saw the other Toa leaving the air fields with the Barraki.”

Defilak’s eyes flashed and he swiveled his gaze towards Matoro, who froze.

“Wh—Barraki? What are Barraki?” he asked, feeling Defilak’s stare burning through him.

“So, you’re in league with _that_ lot,” Defilak said, raising a hand to give the cannons his command.

“Wait, wait, no! You’re mistaken!” Matoro said. In the next moment, he knew Defilak was going to give the order to shoot him down. So, no matter how bad it looked, Matoro jetted away from Mahri Nui. He heard the order, and before the air spheres could hit, he whirled and conjured up a massive wall of ice between him and the matoran. The air spheres hit the wall, and Matoro continued to swim as hard as he could.

In the next instant he felt a small shockwave vibrate through his body. He looked over his shoulder, but continued swimming. He couldn’t see anything. Another shockwave struck in front of him and blasted him backwards. He tumbled head over heels before colliding solidly with a rock. He felt himself sink to the bottom, stunned, with a small amount of blood floating away from a wound in his side.

Matoro looked up, seeing a large armored figure standing above him. His vision began to blur, and weakness weighed his limbs down. He could do nothing as he felt chains wrap around his torso and he was dragged away across the sand.

“Nice try, runner.” A deep, rumbling voice was the last thing Matoro heard as he slipped into darkness.

* * *

Hahli swam cautiously behind the pale shark-like Barraki, eyes darting between it, and its army of sharks. The Barraki with the eels and the squid were far ahead, but she could still see their dark silhouettes in the distant murky water. Her companions were close behind her, and she could feel their fear just as potently as her own.

They swam for hours, weaving through forests of dense seaweed and coral. Harmless fish and crabs scattered at the sight of the Barraki and their armies. Soon the sea floor dropped off into an impossibly dark abyss. The Barraki disappeared into it without a moment’s hesitation. But Hahli and her fellow Toa hesitated.

“Do I even need to say how much I don’t want to go down there?” Kongu groaned under his breath. Hewkii patted him on the back.

“I don’t either,” Hewkii said, “But—,”

“Yeah, yeah, the Ignika, I know,” Kongu said.

“Guess what I’ve got!” Nuparu announced, and with a flourish, he opened his travel bag to reveal a set of six lightstones.

“Nuparu, you’re the best,” Kongu said as the Toa let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Means a lot coming from you,” Nuparu chuckled. The five Toa all grabbed a lightstone and followed the Barraki into the underwater pit.

The further they swam down, the more the lightstones revealed just how deep the pit was. The walls were lined with small cells, containing all manner of mutated beings. Some were dead, partially decayed and stripped to the bone by the small toothy fish that darted about. Some retreated from the bars of their cells, shrinking away from the light of the Toa’s lightstones. And some snarled and hissed at the passersby, eyes clouded with beastly madness.

“The Piraka’s fortress was nice,” Kongu said.

“Remember, we have a job to do,” Jaller said, smiling slightly at Kongu’s unbridled sarcasm.

“This is just how I cope,” Kongu sighed, half-jokingly.

Further and further down they went, keeping an eye on the backs of the Barraki. Their armies of sea creatures had dispersed, leaving them alone with the prisoners behind bars. The water grew unbelievably cold. Since Jaller couldn’t use his fire down here, he instead began emanating heat from his body to warm up the water around him and his companions. The bottom of the pit finally came within sight.

The Barraki led the five Toa to a cell with busted bars. And inside the empty cell, on the back wall, was a large tunnel. They swam in, and the white Barraki beckoned to the Toa again. They followed without question.

One long, winding, and claustrophobic trip later, and they came upon a clearing, surrounded by long jagged barnacle-encrusted rocks. The Toa were each led into a small cave, and each was then guarded by a large shark upon the white Barraki’s command.

“Okay, now what?” Hewkii asked aloud from his cave.

“They think we can be allies, but they don’t trust us yet,” Kongu answered, glowering at the shark guarding his cave.

“We need a plan, and fast. They have the Ignika, so how do we get it?” Jaller said.

Hahli saw Nuparu in his cave across from her. She met his eyes, and after giving her a subtle wink, he burrowed into the sand underneath, disappearing in an instant. The shark guarding his cave didn’t notice. Hahli cracked a smile.

* * *

Nuparu carefully dug his way through the sandy ocean floor, stopping every once in a while to pop his head back up and check his surroundings. He left the area his fellow Toa were being kept and went further towards another cluster of jagged tooth-like rocks that jutted from the sea floor. He resurfaced from the sand, surveying the area. Within the circle of jagged rocks, on top of a small stone slab was the Ignika. He instinctively swam forward, reaching out to it, when a long-bladed claw slashed downwards towards his face.

Nuparu was now face to face with an enormous creature, with two bladed claws, beady red eyes, sharp teeth, and a long tentacle snaking from the back of its head. It wore mismatched patchwork armor and bioluminescence glowed in stripes down its arms legs and the sides of its head.

“Another mutated monstrosity,” Nuparu said out loud as the creature snarled and swiped at him again. He retreated underground. His mind raced. He knew where the Ignika was now, at least.

He continued tunneling around the area. At one point when he resurfaced, he saw the pale Barraki and the reddish one swimming by. The reddish one swiveled its large tentacled head towards him, but he managed to duck out of the sightline of the Barraki’s cloudy blue eyes. When the two Barraki were out of sight, Nuparu tunneled further.

He surfaced, swimming low against the sea floor. He approached a small cave with an entrance blocked by loose rocks. A glint caught his eye. Nuparu shifted the rocks aside, glancing about to make sure no Barraki caught him. When the entrance was cleared, Nuparu’s breath caught in his throat, bubbles escaping his mouth.

Inside the cave were rows of shiny metal weapons. They looked similar to the launcher weapons the Piraka used. But they were larger, and looked like they were loaded with much more ammunition. Nuparu’s heart quickened as he brushed the surface of one weapon with his fingers. A familiar excitement crept up inside him; he had to see how these worked. He and his fellow Toa could possibly use them to escape and bring down that nasty creature guarding the Ignika.

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” he mused aloud.

* * *

With a dull ache pulsing inside his head, Matoro slowly awoke. His vision was blurry for a few moments, and with a few blinks it thankfully cleared. He could see that he was in some kind of cell. He checked all his limbs for injury. He stretched and let out a grunt of pain at the soreness in his ribs. The wound in his side was still tender, but it had at least stopped bleeding. The walls of his cell were rough and covered in barnacles. Tiny seaweeds and lichen grew in the corners and reached up through the large metal bars of his cell.

Matoro peered through the bars. There were other cells across from him that he could see, housing other mutants. One right across from his cell was swinging one of its clawed arms lazily about, randomly snapping at nothing with large mandibles. Another in the cell next to it was a similar looking mutant, with scaly blue skin, long bladed arms and pointed teeth. It simply sat perfectly still, staring out at something in the distance. The longer he looked at it, the more uneasy Matoro became, so he tore his gaze away.

He heard a crazed shriek from another cell. Suddenly a large being came into view. He looked like the one that had captured Matoro and rendered him unconscious. He had heavy armor on, with a double-bladed weapon attached to his back. He surveyed the prisoners with a stony expression, piercing through everything with pale green eyes. He strode slowly towards the source of the shriek, another mutant with a lot of tentacles, and large round eyes. The armored being withdrew his weapon and struck the bars of the mutant’s cage, a penetrating metallic sound ringing through the water.

The mutant shrieked again and withdrew further into his cell. The armored being continued walking. _He must be the jailer_ here, Matoro thought. Suddenly the jailer stopped, and turned towards Matoro. He strode towards his cell. Matoro backed away from the bars.

“The runner’s finally awake,” the armored jailer said, half-amused.

“There’s been a mistake, see, I’m not—,” Matoro began, but the jailer’s weapon collided with the bars of his cell, making his ears ring.

“I’ve heard it all, every excuse in the book,” the jailer’s eyes stabbed into Matoro’s, “Now, sit tight. You’re gonna be here a long time.” He cracked a devious smirk and walked away.

“Hey, wait!” Matoro cried, reaching through the bars of his cell to grab the jailer’s arm, “I’m a Toa! I need to—!”

In the blink of an eye the jailer grabbed Matoro’s arm, and twisted it around, bending it at an uncomfortable angle. Matoro grunted in pain as the jailer stared hard at him. He leaned in too close.

“Don’t pull anymore stunts, or you don’t want to know what’ll happen.”

The jailer released Matoro’s arm, who let out a gasp of relief. As the jailer left his field of vision, Matoro glared after him, hot anger rising in his chest and throat.

“You’re making a mistake! I’m a Toa! Let me out! I’ve got a job to do!” The jailer ignored him. Matoro let out a growl of frustration. He sat back, taking in a long breath, and letting out a burst of bubbles from his mouth.

There had to be a way out. More than anything he needed to find his fellow Toa. Matoro could practically feel every second ticking away, each one vital in the search for the Ignika. If too many of those seconds slipped away…he tried not to think about it. He forced himself to calm and focus his mind on one problem at a time.

So, how to get out of the cell. Matoro decided to survey the area the best way he knew how. He closed his eyes and let himself slip out of his body. He spirited through the water, passing rows upon rows of cells housing crazed mutants. Something shiny and red caught his eye.

It was a robot, large, bipedal, almost Toa-like. Its face was shaped like a diving mask, and it carried a two-pronged spear. Its eyes were a dim grey, perhaps it wasn’t activated. Matoro ghosted closer, and jerked back when the dim grey eyes lit up, blazing a furious red.

The robot stirred to life, and its eyes seemed to meet his own. But that wasn’t possible…he was invisible, right? Matoro sped back to his body, reawakening in his cell. He breathed hard for a second, trying to process what he just saw. Before he could wonder any more, the robot suddenly appeared on the other side of his cell’s bars.

“Um, hello?” he said. The robot stared for an uncomfortable second. Then its face opened up, revealing a dark swirling cloud of matter that slowly coalesced into a pale face he recognized instantly.

“Makuta?” Matoro gasped out, his blood icing over.

That pale face split into a wide grin. “In the flesh,” Makuta said.


	17. What Needs to Be Done

Matoro stared at the face that looked out from the robot’s head for a long time. He shifted his position, slowly standing himself up, and peering through the bars of his cell at the Master of Shadows.

“You…you’re not dead,” he said, unsure of what else he could say in the situation at hand.

Makuta chuckled darkly, closing up the face of the robot once more. He continued to speak through it, red eyes flashing brightly.

“No, not dead,” Makuta said amusedly, “Sorry to disappoint.”

“But how?” Matoro asked, incredulity, anger, and confusion all swirling together in a chaotic mass in his head.

“I just lost a vessel for my essence. I’ll find better one soon enough,” Makuta explained.

Matoro narrowed his eyes at the robot.

“Why are you here?” the Toa of Ice asked. Without a word, the Makuta-robot grabbed two bars next to each other, and bent them effortlessly until they snapped off, leaving a wide enough gap for Matoro to walk through. The robot gestured for Matoro to step through. But Matoro took a step back.

“Come now, Matoro,” Makuta said smoothly, “Why waste this great opportunity to escape?”

“I think you know why,” Matoro hissed, images of destruction on his island home, the stories of Nuju and the other Turaga, passing through his mind. He’d never trust the one behind all that suffering.

“I know what you are thinking. But in this instance, I’m on your side.”

Matoro let out a short incredulous laugh, “You’re Makuta. You’re on no one’s side but your own.”

“What if I told you that I want Mata Nui to live as well?”

“Then I wouldn’t believe you.”

“Fine, then don’t believe me. But then I guess you won’t be able to save him.”

“What do you mean?” Matoro stared into those glowing eyes, not finding any kind of indication of how truthful Makuta was being.

“I know how. And I’ll tell you, if you do something for me.”

“What could you possibly want from me?”

The Makuta robot leaned close to his face, and even though it was hard and metallic, Matoro could picture the wide menacing grin underneath.

“Your trust.”

* * *

Nuparu ducked under the teeth of a shark, and let loose a barrage of bullets from the weapon he’d found. His fellow Toa were nearby, similarly armed, and fighting off the pale Barraki’s army of sharks. They had all made it out of their confinement, only to run into an ambush just outside the area.

“Nuparu, I like these things a lot!” Kongu called over to him, hoisting the weapon up onto his shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re having fun!” Nuparu shouted back and spun to avoid another shark diving towards him.

“We need to beat these guys back and meet back up with Matoro!” Hahli said, firing her weapon at a cluster of sharks that had advanced towards her. Nearby, Jaller was doing the same. On a tall rocky cliff above them, Hewkii was taking precise shots at sharks, depleting the ranks.

Nuparu continued firing, until suddenly something struck him in the face, and he felt a jolt of electricity stun him. He felt his weapon slip from his fingers. He blinked, and could see an army of eels join in the action.

Kongu saw Nuparu fall, and swam after him, firing his weapon at an eel that pursued him. He tried his best to ward off the angry sea creatures, but to no avail. With each one that was shot down, three more took its place. Soon, squid began joining the assault as well.

“This is getting ridiculous,” Kongu muttered under his breath, then an idea struck him. While he continued to fight, Kongu focused his kanohi on the surrounding sea creatures. He could hear their simple, primitive thoughts. Then more mental voices, far from the area, but familiar. The Barraki, giving their commands to their legions to kill the Toa.

Kongu remembered that he was able to transfer the thoughts of the Ignika into Vezon’s head, so what if…

He focused on the pale shark-like one; it was narcissistic, thought it was above the other two. It believed its army was the strongest. Going off that, Kongu began transferring those thoughts into the reddish tentacled one.

It seemed to be working. The reddish Barraki then grew angry. How could the pale one’s army be greater? The pale one is a fool! He will show his ally what a strong army was! Satisfied at the seeds of conflict he planted, Kongu withdrew his kanohi. Concentrating back onto his surroundings, he could see Nuparu recovering from his injury, and the squids began attacking the sharks.

All out pandemonium ensued. Squid wrapped their tentacles around the sharks while the sharks snapped at them with their teeth. Blood began clouding the water. Some squid managed to team up and strangle sharks twice their size, while others were bitten in half. Carcasses of both sharks and squid began drifting down towards the ocean floor. Soon the eels joined in, shocking any other creature that came near. The water practically began to boil from all the sea creatures thrashing about. Beyond them, Kongu could make out the three Barraki fighting each other.

Hahli swam up to him, followed by Jaller and Hewkii. Nuparu, now fully recovered, rose up to meet them.

“Time to go,” Hahli said, all nodded their agreement, and they swam for Mahri Nui.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the outskirts of the underwater city, and soon they were bombarded by air spheres launched by the matoran.

“Not this again!” Hewkii cried over the noise.

“Stop, it’s us! The Toa!” Hahli called out to them, only to be struck in the chest by an air sphere. She fell backwards, and a look of frustration crossed her face.

Jaller swam ahead of them all, his eyes fixed on Defilak, who looked as unfriendly as ever. Even when he was hit by sphere after sphere, he ignored the pain and continued forward. He came within a few feet of the matoran leader, and was unsurprisingly met with several spears held at his throat.

“You’ve got some nerve, crawling back here,” Defilak said darkly.

Jaller returned his hard stare. “Whatever you think we’ve done, you’re mistaken.”

“My agent Idris saw you lot with the Barraki.”

“Yes, we found out that they have the Ignika. So, we need our teammate so we can storm their hideout and collect it.”

“What is it with this ‘Ignika’? Why the hell is it so important?” Defilak’s hard voice had a bit of an exasperated edge to it.

“It’s meant to save the Great Spirit,” Jaller said, not daring to break his gaze.

“Save him?”

“Up on the surface we’ve seen the stars blinking out, one by one. It means that Mata Nui, our universe, is dying. The Ignika is the only thing that can save him.”

Defilak lowered his spear, his eyes searching Jaller’s face. He looked like for once he didn’t know what to say. So, Jaller continued speaking.

“If we don’t get that mask, the whole universe will collapse and we will all die: us on the surface, and you too.”

Defilak ordered his matoran soldiers to stand down with a wave of his hand. The spears retreated from Jaller’s throat. Jaller smiled down at him.

“I mean with the utmost sincerity that my fellow Toa and I are only trying to keep that from happening.”

Defilak sighed. “So, Toa. What would you have us do?”

“First of all, we need to know where Matoro is,” Jaller said.

Defilak looked hesitant. “We…ran him out of the city. I don’t know where—,”

“Matoro!” Hahli cried happily as the Toa of Ice approached. She hugged him enthusiastically, and he returned it, if not a bit hesitantly. Jaller waved at his friend, who waved back. The others patted him on the back.

“Where did you go?” Hewkii asked Matoro. Jaller noticed that the Toa of Ice seemed a bit on edge, more so than usual.

“I…I know how to save Mata Nui,” he said.

* * *

Tahu guided his companions through Ga-Metru under the cover of night. At his signal, they all pressed themselves against a wall as a couple of Ga-Matoran guards walked by. He signaled again, and they all crept towards the Great Temple.

They walked around the back wall, finding a section that hadn’t gotten repaired yet. One by one the Toa climbed over the rubble. Gali stepped ahead of Tahu, feeling along the back wall of the temple.

“Nokama showed me a secret entrance around here before,” the Toa of Water whispered as her fingers brushed the stony surface. She pressed in one particular stone, and a small door slid open in front of them. They all slunk inside.

Once inside, Gali led them down several flights of stairs, down towards the very lowest levels. There were ancient eroded carvings on the wall, and a lot of cracks and piles of dust. Soon the Toa Nuva came upon a room lined with shelves, with thousands of cylindrical objects piled up to the high ceiling.

“What are these?” Pohatu asked, carefully pulling one of the cylinders off the shelf. Gali stepped up next to him. She took the cylinder from him, examined it curiously, and after pulling it from the side, watched as the thing unraveled, revealing a long strip of paper with matoran writing painted onto it. The Toa stared at it for a moment.

“Well, that’s dumb,” Pohatu said, “There are plenty of perfectly usable tablets over there,” he pointed to a corner of the room where stood a pile of blank stone tablets.

“Well, the Chronicler wrote on paper…and rolling it up seems pretty practical for storage,” Onua spoke up. Pohatu grunted, still unconvinced.

“Which one is the one Axonn told us about?” Gali asked, looking up at the stacked shelves. Kopaka peered up at the mess before them, both his normal eye and his cybernetic eye scanning all the scrolls rapidly. He reached his hand out and pulled one from the shelf.

“This is it,” he said, pointing to the seal on its side. It was shaped like the familiar symbolic representation of the Great Spirit. Tahu took it, cracking a smile.

“You’re always good for saving time,” he said to the Toa of Ice, who didn’t react. Tahu carefully unrolled the scroll. As Tahu read, Lewa bounced up behind him, craning his neck to see the words. After a minute the anticipation on Tahu’s face faded into confusion, then incredulity.

“This can’t be right…” he said under his breath.

“Let me see that,” Gali swiped it from him, and her blue eyes darted over the words. Lewa tried looking over her shoulder as well. Gali soon wore the same expression as Tahu. “Oh, no,” she said.

“What? What is it?” Pohatu asked, his eyes wide. Lewa finally got a turn with the scroll, and after just a few moments, he glanced over at Tahu.

“Is this a joke? Please tell me whoever quick-wrote this was joking,” Lewa said.

“What does it say?” Pohatu pleaded, panic rising up in his throat.

Tahu looked up at him, meeting his gaze. His brow was furrowed.

“It says…we need to free the Bahrag,” the Toa of Fire said through his teeth.

Pohatu felt his spine sag, arms hanging limply at his sides. He couldn’t stop himself from voicing what his fellow Toa were already thinking.

“After all that trouble we went through to trap them?!”

“We need to let the Borok swarms destroy the island of Mata Nui,” Tahu continued, anger in his voice.

The silence hung thickly in the air as all the Toa processed what was just said.

“If that’s what we have to do, then we have to do it,” Kopaka said rather emotionlessly. Lewa looked at him as if lava eels had crawled out of his ears.

“Um, ice-brother, do you recall Mata Nui was—,”

“—Our home, yes. I’m aware,” Kopaka said firmly, “But it isn’t anymore. It was never going to be forever.”

“Yeah, but…” Pohatu started, but couldn’t begin to finish the sentence.

“Kopaka’s right,” Tahu said, bringing all attention to him, “We were never going to go back there anyway. The matoran are here in Metru Nui, where they belong.”

“And if we need to destroy the island in order to save the Great Spirit, then that’s what we’re going to do,” Onua added, though his voice was a bit heavy. Soon, all the Toa nodded in reluctant agreement. As quietly as they had entered, the Toa Nuva left the Great Temple through the secret passageway, and made their way back to the beach, where their silver transport canisters were waiting.

“It’s bad enough we need to sneak around the matoran, but this…” Pohatu sighed heavily, and suddenly felt alleviated when he felt Kopaka’s hand on his shoulder.

“When this is all over, I’ll show you around Ko-Metru sometime,” Kopaka said, his tone unusually light. And the Toa of Ice gave one of his rare smiles. It brought an encouraged grin to Pohatu’s face.

“I’d like that,” he said. Kopaka left his side to board his canister, and Pohatu then stepped into his own. The hatch closed, and he pressed a few buttons on the console. The canister whirred to life, and Pohatu could feel it launch forward into the ocean.

_We do our part_ , he thought as his consciousness slipped away, _And the Toa Inika do theirs, and hopefully this will all be over._

* * *

Their plan was underway. The Toa Inika had already sent a message to Axonn thanks to Kongu, instructing him to evacuate the matoran of Mahri Nui and to keep them and the Voya Nui matoran safe for the upcoming cataclysm.

Matoro led the way as the six Toa all swam back towards the Barraki hideout. Chaos still raged above it, with the Barraki’s armies still frantically ripping each other to shreds. They quietly swam their way around the frothing cacophony, each grimacing with distaste at the smell of blood in the water. Through a few stony tunnels, and past the abandoned caves, they came upon the place Nuparu had found to house the Ignika.

Matoro called a halt as he scanned the area. He could just barely make out a pair of reflective beady eyes in the cave behind the Ignika’s pedestal.

_It doesn’t see us,_ Kongu’s mental message surprised Matoro at first, but he turned to nod at his companion. He wordlessly directed Hahli, Hewkii, and Nuparu to go around the area, and for Kongu and Jaller to go the other way, effectively surrounding the hidden monster. While they distracted it, he would grab the Ignika.

The plan proceeded smoothly at first. While five of the Toa fired at the monster in the cave, which began shrieking and thrashing about, its bioluminescence blinking on and off rapidly, Matoro jetted himself towards the Ignika. His heart skipped when he felt its warmth in his hands once again.

“I’ve got it!” he cried, and he and his companions swiftly swam upwards over the spiked rocks and away from the shrieks of the incapacitated monster. And as soon as they thought they were in the clear, they were suddenly surrounded by the three Barraki and their armies. Though their numbers had depleted significantly, and many still sported bleeding injuries, it was still enough to overwhelm the six Toa.

Hahli swam in front of Matoro, holding her arms out protectively.

“Let us pass, and we won’t have to destroy you all,” she snarled, a viciousness in her voice Matoro had never heard before.

The pale Barraki’s face split in what may have been an unappealingly wide grin. And before Matoro and his companions knew it, the three Barraki and their armies were jetting towards them.

Hahli summoned an enormous current, halting the progress of their attackers for a few moments. The angry mutated sea creatures and their leaders swam frantically in place for a bit, and the Toa used the opportunity to get a head start. Matoro clutched the Ignika to his chest with one hand and let out a blast of ice from the other at their enemies. He froze a good lot of them and swam as hard as he could after his companions.

“We need to get to the Stone Chord, the tunnel we came here through!” he shouted over the churning water.

“We should split up! Matoro, Nuparu and Kongu, get to the Chord! Hahli, Hewkii and I will hold them off!” Jaller answered. The Toa all quickly agreed. Matoro swam past Jaller, who gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. Matoro nodded, and continued forwards with Nuparu and Kongu in tow.

He looked back to see Jaller clashing weapons with the pale Barraki, while Hahli warded off the sea creatures with more powerful currents. Hewkii was locked in a fight with the green Barraki, narrowly avoiding its spikes. Matoro turned back, focusing himself on the task at hand.

Matoro, Kongu, and Nuparu swam towards the Stone Chord. Makuta had told Matoro that it connected Voya Nui and Mahri Nui, and in destroying it, the two islands will be merged into one has they had been hundreds of thousands of years ago. And it would open what Makuta had called “The Core of the Universe.” It was there that Matoro would use the mask to revitalize the Great Spirit.

They hadn’t gotten far when an unwelcome voice reached Matoro’s ears.

“Runner! I warned you about what would happen!” The aftershock of a nearby explosion blew Matoro, Kongu, and Nuparu away. They tumbled head over heels through the water. Dazed, the three quickly unsheathed their weapons. Matoro recognized the jailer immediately and glared at him with distaste.

“If you resist, I’ll settle for throwing a lifeless corpse into a cell instead!” The jailer fired another blast from his weapon, and even though they tried to dodge, the three Toa were thrown about again.

Nuparu threw his arms up, summoning slab of earth from the sea floor to throw the jailer off balance. But the jailer was barely phased, and leaped off the earth slab beneath him, floating back down to the sea floor. He fired at the Toa more rapidly, churning up the water with explosion after explosion. Matoro fired ice spikes in his direction, only for them to be shattered from all the aftershocks before they reached their targets. Kongu dodged this way and that, using the air inside the surrounding bubbles to stir the water into a whirlpool, sending it after the jailer. Nuparu kept rupturing the sea floor, trying to knock the jailer off his feet.

The jailer was too good at avoiding all the attacks directed at him. One of his explosive charges hit Nuparu in the chest, and the Toa of Earth was blasted backwards, where his back hit a stone wall. Blood floated away from a fresh wound on his chest.

“Nuparu!” Kongu called out, swimming towards him. Another explosion hit Kongu in the back, and he met the same fate. Matoro’s heart froze, seeing his two companions bleeding profusely, unmoving. He faced the jailer, who had stopped firing for the moment. Despite his fear for his companions, Matoro held his cold stare, his blood boiling.

“You’re coming with me,” the jailer said, and in the second he fired another charge, something shiny red and metallic appeared in front of Matoro, batting the charge away and sending it back towards the jailer. The explosion hit, and the jailer was knocked backwards, stunned.

Matoro looked up at the robot, the one he knew was Makuta. His mouth was open, but he couldn’t make a sound.

“No need to thank me, Matoro,” Makuta laughed softly through the harsh metal shell.

Matoro stared, dumbfounded. It was baffling enough that the Master of Darkness himself had broken him out of jail, but he didn’t even know what to say to the Master of Darkness saving his life. He glanced backwards to where Nuparu and Kongu lay. His breath caught when he saw them begin to stir. The blood in the water seemed to lessen, and he could see their wounds slowly close.

“Are you…?” he started to ask.

“I don’t have healing powers,” Makuta said, “You have the mutagens in your blood to thank for that. Now, get out of here! Destroy the Chord!”

The jailer was regaining his footing, and the Makuta robot brandished his weapon in preparation for the next strike.

“Go, now, you fool!” Makuta roared as he charged at the jailer. Their weapons clashed, sending a small shockwave through the water.

Matoro jetted towards his companions.

“What, or who, is that?” Kongu grunted as Matoro helped him up.

“No time, we need to get to the Chord!” Matoro said, and he and his two companions swam as hard as they could. Soon the Stone Chord loomed above them. All three of them readied their blaster weapons.

“You should probably tell Axonn to hurry,” Nuparu said frantically, his finger hovering over the trigger.

“He says there are still a few left in the tunnel,” Kongu reported, a finger to his temple.

“We need to destroy the chord right now!” Matoro urged, clutching the Ignika tighter to himself.

“Okay, okay, hold on,” Kongu was silent for a minute, and with each second that passed Matoro could swear there were eyes on all their backs.

“Now!” Kongu said, and the three of them began firing their weapons at the Chord. After about a minute, a loud _crack_ broke through the water, and the Toa could see the structure begin to weaken and crumble. Soon the rocky underside of Voya Nui began to sink towards them, casting a shadow over them and the nearby city of Mahri Nui.

Matoro, Nuparu, and Kongu wasted no time jetting away.

Not too far away, Jaller was still locked in a fight with the pale Barraki. Hahli and Hewkii had brought down most of the hostile sea creatures, and each Toa was battling one on one with a Barraki. Hewkii managed to pin the greenish one under a pile of rocks, and Hahli’s weapon managed to stab through the reddish one’s armor. It let out a screech of pain, and lashed out a clawed hand, which she barely managed to dodge.

A deep rumbling sound vibrated through the water, and soon a shadow fell over all of them. Toa and Barraki alike paused in their fight and looked up to see the island of Voya Nui sinking with increasing speed towards Mahri Nui.

Everyone scattered, Toa in one direction and Barraki in another. Jaller winced in pain at a wound on his shoulder the pale Barraki gave him, but soon adrenaline kicked in and all he could focus on was getting as far away from the sinking landmass as possible. Luckily Hahli and Hewkii were right beside him.

Once they were far enough away, the Toa turned to look out into the distance. Voya Nui, now completely submerged, crashed down on top of Mahri Nui, bursting its protective air bubble. Jaller mentally prayed to Mata Nui that all the matoran were safe in the Voya Nui caves.

Suddenly the other three Toa emerged over a barnacle-encrusted rock, and Jaller sighed with relief that Matoro still held the Ignika in his hands. All six of them watched as Voya Nui settled into place, and all six Toa gasped as the combined landmass suddenly launched across the sea floor, somewhere towards the south. As it moved, it carved a deep gash into the earth.

Matoro jetted after it. The other five Toa followed, only to once again get surrounded by the three Barraki and their armies.

“We’ve had enough of you!” Hahli shouted, stirring up even more currents to stop their advance. As the other Toa all began once again to fight, Matoro swam even harder, eyes locked firmly on the escaping landmass. He swam along the large ugly chasm the landmass had carved out, seeing the glint of the silvery energized protodermis bubbling up far below.

In the next instant, Matoro felt a jolt in his chest, and the Ignika went cold. A ripple traveled through the water, and soon the other Toa felt it too. Matoro looked down at the Mask of Life, its golden color had faded to grey. Despair and emptiness overtook him, and he looked back at his companions, his blue eyes wide.

* * *

The Toa Nuva traversed the beach of their old island home of Mata Nui as smoke billowed up behind them. Gali fought down the disgust that rose in her throat. After freeing the Bahrag, the twin monsters wasted no time sending out the commands to the Bohrok swarms to destroy everything. Without the Toa’s interference, the Bohrok tore through the natural foliage and leveled the mountains far quicker than she’d ever thought possible.

She glanced back at Lewa, who was lagging behind the others. He looked even more troubled than the rest. She fell into step with him.

“You okay?” She asked quietly, so the others wouldn’t hear.

Lewa’s green eyes were downcast, his brow furrowed. Gali didn’t like seeing him like this.

“I’m…I’m not great,” he admitted slowly.

“Can you, you know, still hear them?” Gali asked carefully.

Lewa heaved a sigh, “Yes.” Gali put an arm around his shoulders.

“It had to be done. And the matoran are safe,” she said.

“I know,” Lewa said, his face softening, “I know.”

Gali smiled down at him, patting him encouragingly on the back. The Toa Nuva gathered together at the edge of the beach, where their silver canisters awaited. The group stopped for a moment, and all six of them watched their former beloved home burn and smolder, orange flames contrasting the deep blue sky, grey smoke nearly blotting out the stars.

Something jolted through the universe, and all the stars blinked out. It was as if something struck Gali in her very core. She glanced at her Toa brothers, who all wore equally stunned expressions. Pohatu turned towards them all, a hand clutching his chest.

“What just happened?” he asked, his brown eyes wide.

“It’s over,” Onua said softly, and all gazes fell upon him. His green eyes were clouded with despair. Above, the sky was pitch black, and the only source of light for the Toa were the fires in the distance.

“You don’t mean…?” Lewa was unable to finish the question.

“No, it can’t be,” Tahu said.

“We need to keep moving,” Kopaka said, turning away from them all, heading towards his canister.

“But what if…” Pohatu said, catching the Toa of Ice’s arm. Kopaka pulled his arm away forcefully.

“We need to keep moving,” he said again, his voice full of ice. He continued walking towards his canister.

“But what if the Inika failed?” Pohatu cried, and Kopaka’s steps faltered.

“They won’t give up so easily,” Tahu said, and now all eyes were on him, “And we shouldn’t either.”

“But…” Pohatu’s voice faltered.

“Kopaka has the right idea,” Tahu said, “No matter what, we need to finish whatever’s on this scroll.” He pulled the scroll from the Great Temple out of his pocket and unrolled it.

“You know, fire-brother, you’ve been agreeing a lot with ice-brother lately,” Lewa joked, “I don’t like it.”

“Now’s not the time for in-fighting,” Tahu said simply.

“Okay, what’s next on the list? We can’t waste any more time,” Kopaka said impatiently.

“It says we need to retrieve the ‘Staff of Artakha,’ whatever that is,” Tahu put the scroll away.

“Let’s go,” the Kopaka said.

As her fellow Toa climbed into their canisters, Gali looked back at the smoldering landscape of the once beautiful island. She looked up at the starless sky and noticed that only one had not yet disappeared; the red star. It burned as intensely as ever. With great effort, she pulled her gaze from it, and climbed into her canister as well.

* * *

“No, it can’t be,” Hewkii said shakily.

“It’s over. We’re too late,” Kongu whispered, his head sinking into his hands.

The Toa were too stunned to speak. They didn’t even notice the Barraki and their sea creatures continuing their pursuit. Matoro stared down at the mask as his friends all hung their heads in grief.

“No. It’s not over,” Matoro said. All his friends looked up at him, disbelief and sorrow on all their faces.

“Matoro…Mata Nui’s dead,” Jaller said quietly. Hahli placed an arm around him.

“No, no, I can still save him,” Matoro said. Even with the Ignika gone cold, he could feel just a tiny flicker of its warmth within him. “I’m going.”

“What’s the point? We failed,” Nuparu said sadly. As Matoro surveyed each one of them, he could understand their despair. But he didn’t share in it. In that moment, he was the only one that knew for a fact there was still hope.

“I’m going,” he repeated, “Don’t wait up for me!” He jetted away, hoping he could swim fast enough to catch up to the landmass on time. He got further and further away from his companions, and soon their protests faded.

“Matoro, I’ll give you a boost!” Hahli’s voice was far away, but soon Matoro felt a current stir up behind him, and carried him forward, faster than he ever felt himself move in his life. Soon he was directly behind the landmass, and the sound of stone grinding and scraping assaulted his ears. He pumped his arms and legs even harder, until he was sure they would all break off. But this was it, he could feel the most important moment in his life creeping up on him.

Suddenly the landmass dipped down into an enormous cavern in the sea floor, quickly vanishing from sight. Matoro felt the tug of a massive current pulling him down after it. He clutched the Ignika to his chest with both hands as he plummeted through rapidly darkening water. But he no longer felt any fear. He knew with utmost clarity that he was fast approaching the place he was needed most.

Suddenly he hit open air. The water rushed down around him in a massive circular waterfall. He gasped for a second, panicked that his new mutated body would go into shock from the sudden transition to air, but when he looked down at himself, his aquatic mutations were gone. He took in a long breath of air into his lungs, savoring the moment. He looked down again and could see he was still falling.

He was fast approaching what looked like a cavern full of burning light of all colors. Water still fell around him, but it slowed significantly until large bubbles and droplets hovered in midair as if gravity didn’t affect them anymore. But Matoro continued to fall past it all, towards that cavern of light. The Ignika was cold against his chest, but he could feel its warmth blazing stronger inside him the closer he got to the light.

He stopped suddenly. He floated gently in the midst of the swirling multicolored light, the warmth in his chest blazing hotter with each passing second. It spread across his whole body, bathing him in fire. He could no longer feel himself, only the heat. His fingers closed tighter around the Ignika, and he could feel the heat passing from himself back into it.

His entire form was light, he was no longer organic. Matoro was now only an essence, feeding life into Mata Nui himself. His mind and heart were at peace. The Ignika blazed gold once again, and Matoro could feel the ripple across the universe.

He was slowly becoming a part of it now, he felt his very essence begin to dissolve, becoming another wisp of light in the cavernous Core of the Universe. In his last moments, Matoro formed one last wish with every fiber of the remnants of his spirit.

_Save my friends. Bring them home_.


	18. Life

Within the span of a single heartbeat, Jaller saw the water and the Barraki disappear and felt his feet hit solid ground, and his lungs took in a breath of air once again. He blinked at the brightness of the midday suns blazing over the gleaming buildings of Ga-Metru. He glanced around at his equally stunned Toa companions, each gasping in relief. Kongu did a wind-assisted backflip, a wide grin on his face. Nuparu did the same, using his kanohi. Kongu gave him a hard look, but quickly burst out laughing. Hewkii grabbed Kongu and Nuparu around the shoulders, joining in the laughter. Hahli pulled Jaller into a tight hug, her blue eyes sparkling. He wrapped his arms tight around her, sighing contentedly.

They separated as the six Turaga of Mata Nui, and a large crowd of matoran soon gathered, cheering and smiling at the Toa Inika’s return. Macku pushed through the crowd and practically jumped into Hewkii’s arms. She also spared a moment to wave happily at Hahli. Kongu’s old Gukko Force companions from Le-Koro gathered around him, asking questions excitedly. Nuparu engaged in conversation with Turaga Whenua, who was beaming proudly. Turaga Dume had appeared on the scene, looking stern at first, but gave Jaller a respectful nod, which Jaller returned.

“Jaller!” The Toa of Fire felt a surge of joy at that familiar voice. Out of the crowd came that head of bright white hair, those bright blue eyes, and shiny gold armor.

Jaller left Hahli’s side, and practically crashed into Takanuva. He wrapped his arms around his old friend, lifting him off the ground. He placed him down, and the two laughed happily, trapping each other in another hug.

“Told you I wouldn’t die again, kohlii-head,” Jaller smirked as they separated, punching Takanuva on the arm. The Toa of Light grunted in pain but laughed heartily.

“You have no idea how much I missed that,” Takanuva said, his eyes shining. Hahli suddenly appeared and hugged the Toa of Light. “Hey, Hahli!” The two separated, and Takanuva looked both her and Jaller up and down.

“You guys got taller,” he commented. All three of them laughed. Hahli rejoined Jaller, and the two interlaced their fingers.

Turaga Vakama approached Jaller Hahli and Takanuva. He smiled up at them, his eyes wrinkling up in the corners. His eyes met Jaller’s.

“It looks as though you took a page out of Takanuva’s book,” the elder said lightly. Jaller laughed in response.

“Yeah, he’s always been a bad influence,” Jaller joked, inciting a laugh from the elder. Takanuva punched in the arm playfully, like they always had done.

“Welcome home, Toa Jaller, Toa Hahli,” Vakama said, then raised his voice to the rest of the Toa Inika, “Welcome home, all of you!” The matoran crowd cheered. Even Turaga Dume had a small smile on his face. Above them, in a high observation tower, Turaga Nuju leaned his head out a window, waving his arms.

And for the first time since anyone could remember, he spoke in the matoran language.

“The Great Spirit lives!” he declared. More cheers resounded through the Ga-Metru square.

“But wait…where’s Matoro?” Nuparu’s question nearly instantly silenced the whole area. Jaller suddenly became aware of the Toa of Ice’s absence. He glanced around at all his companions, and he could feel the heavy weight of dread in his chest that he was certain all of them could feel too.

“He went down into the Core of the Universe…and…” Hahli stopped herself, her eyes shining with tears, “Oh…,” the realization seemed to hit her, as it seemed to hit all within the area. Countless matoran hung their heads in grief. Jaller felt tears in his own eyes as Hahli buried her face in his shoulder. He could see Kongu, his green eyes clouded, fall back slightly, only to be caught by Nuparu, who looked equally mournful. Hewkii hung his head, his arm still around Macku who looked too stunned to react. Tears spilled from Takanuva’s eyes, and he made no attempt to hide them.

“It seems that a hero has been lost to us today,” Vakama spoke up, addressing everyone in the square, his voice grief-stricken, “Once a loyal and intelligent Ko-Matoran, now Matoro will go down in history as the Toa who gave his life to save the Great Spirit himself, and in turn, all of us as well. It was possibly the most selfless sacrifice the matoran race will ever know.” When Vakama paused in his speech, the silent mourning was almost unbearable. “In three days time, we will hold a memorial for this great hero. For now, we should rest from our labors.”

The elder of the long-gone Ta-Koro looked solemnly up at the five remaining Toa Inika, a mixture of pride and grief shining in his yellow eyes. “Thank you, all of you.”

The crowd in the square began to dissipate, though the Toa Inika remained, huddled together in a tight-knit group, grieving their lost friend. Above them in the observation tower, Turaga Nuju observed the sight. He sighed heavily, sinking down into his chair.

The elder glanced down at all his star charts, reflecting on Matoro’s memory. He recalled the day he’d appointed the matoran as his personal translator. Matoro was reluctant at first, but soon grew to be a most trusted and loyal companion. At times Nuju had wondered if he was happy, being removed from regular matoran labor, forced to keep secrets far bigger than himself. But Matoro was steadfast and dedicated and was much kinder than Nuju ever was. Often it was him that reminded Nuju that there was more to life than logic and efficiency.

Nuju tried to fight down the sadness building in him. Matoro had done the right thing to go off with those five others. In the end, he did save their world. The Ignika must have chosen him a long time ago, and there was no way he would have been able to do what he had to and be able to come back home. Nuju glanced out into the vast blue sky, allowing himself for a just a moment to let the sadness wash over him.

Despite the grief, Nuju felt a small smile at the corners of his mouth.

_Goodbye, old friend_ , he thought.


End file.
